As students prepare to enter a rapidly evolving business landscape, strength and determination are keys to success. The FIU chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) zeroed in on the strategies necessary to build resilience both personally and professionally at their signature, annual event “NABA South Florida Fall Day” on October 19. The faculty advisor is Antoinette Smith, a professor in the School of Accounting.
Students gathered for a day of workshops, keynote sessions and networking with industry experts and recruiters. Mark Myring, director of the School of Accounting, kicked off the event, welcoming everyone to FIU.
Themed Resilience, the event brought together students from South Florida NABA chapters – FIU, Florida Atlantic University, St. Thomas University and the University of Miami – and a select group of students interested in business from William H. Turner Technical Arts High School in Miami.
“The goal is to help us as students elevate our skills, build resilience and grit, form relationships and connect directly with recruiters in a relaxed setting,” said Christina Smith, FIU NABA president and accounting and data analytics major. “Also, the conference is rejuvenating when you network with others and reaffirm that you are not alone on this college journey. There are others similar to you.”
An important benefit of Fall Day: growth, career and personal advancement.
“It’s huge and can help with my education growth,” said Wonderful Dowd, a junior majoring in finance. “I’m also looking to become more responsible, have better writing and speaking skills.”
Recruiters from major recruiting firms – Ernst & Young, Kaufman Rossin, PwC, KPMG, Bloomberg, Crowe, Grant Thornton, BDO, and Lomax Legal all sponsored the event. Representatives from Bloomberg presented a workshop on “Building Confidence: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome” and Grant Thornton led a workshop on “Financial Resilience: Planning for the Future.”
Alexis Polanco, a diversity recruiter focused on Florida schools at Bloomberg, noted that events like Fall Day are a great opportunity for companies to work directly on upskilling students.
“They need to start building genuine relationships across our companies, to increase their exposure to companies they perhaps would not be sure how to access,” she said.
Driven by the increased use of artificial intelligence, Edward Duran, assistant teaching professor of information systems and business analytics at FIU Business, made a presentation on how ChatGPT can give students an edge in study, work and personal projects.
“If you don’t understand a concept, you can ask ChatGPT to break it down,” Duran said, adding that the program can also be used for role playing. “And businesses can use ChatGPT Enterprise for making all sorts of cool reports.”