Just ask Jaime Parks, who will receive her bachelors degree in accounting from the Rutgers University School of Business at Camden during a 9 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, May 17.
The Somerdale resident returned to college nearly a decade after discovering that she didnt want a career in nursing. She stopped taking college classes and worked as an assistant manager in a small mom-and-pop convenience store.
That job got me in a management mindset, says Parks, who also worked in inventory control for a manufacturing company and ultimately worked for PNC Bank.
When PNC decided to replace her job with new technology, Parks heard the wake-up call for her career.
I was told that in two years my position would be eliminated. That was my kick in the butt, says Parks, who realized then that she wanted to pursue a career in accounting.
Before enrolling at Rutgers-Camden in 2005, Parks took courses at Camden County College, where she completed two years of preparatory coursework in just over a year. She also discovered her own leadership skills. In challenging accounting courses, younger students would quickly drop out, but Parks work experience and maturity resulted in top marks.
My professor knew I was a strong student, so she shot struggling students my way. It became my personal goal that I help everyone in that class pass, says Parks.
While at Rutgers, Parks continued to volunteer her time for her fellow students by serving as the president of Beta Alpha Psi, a national honorary accounting fraternity, and as a peer mentor for incoming first year students.
Ive been off-track and on-track. I try to encourage others to follow what they want. Even when it seems like its impossible, its not, says Parks, who will begin working for KPMG in its audit department this August.
A graduate of Sterling High School, Parks resides in Somerdale.