Innovision Spring 2020

SPRING 2020 | 23 He is also heavily involved with on-campus clubs. He is the President of the Kutztown University Accounting Club (KUAC), a student-run organization that creates a network of students, faculty and accounting professionals to shape the next generation of accountants. Philip says, “I think it is vital for accounting majors to join the KUAC. It is the best way to network with accounting professionals. The KUAC played a big role in getting my first job upon graduation.” Also, Philip is one of the Managing Directors of the Applied Investment Management (AIM) Association, a club dedicated to providing students with relevant, meaningful and applicable information regarding the various facets of investment management and financial science. Philip says, “AIM is applicable to all students because everyone needs to know how to manage money.” At KU, Philip loves Kutztown’s culture and the professors. The professors and the students made his transition from LCCC to Kutztown seamless. “The professors really care about their students and helped me land a great job upon graduation,” he says. With Philip’s dream to help others, his dream job is to work for a non-profit firm that would send talented business individuals to third-world countries to help their local businesses grow. He said that donations from large countries like the United States can actually cripple third-world countries more than help them. He argued that sending over people who could help the country grow would be more beneficial than sending an overabundance of supplies. In the meantime, Philip will be starting a job at EY upon graduation. Five years down the road, he hopes to be a manager at EY; in 10 years, he hopes to be in a leadership position at another firm. With the future ahead of him, Philip reflects upon something Professor Costantini told him: “It is okay to not know what I will be doing in the future. As long as I continue to work and discover what I like to do, things will fall into place.” Philip always dreamed of having a job where he could help other people improve upon something. As an Exercise Science major at Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), he quickly discovered that this career path wasn’t the perfect fit for him and his dreams. Until one of his LCCC professors taught him the importance of business and how it intertwined in everyday life, Philip wanted to pursue a degree in business. After transferring to Kutztown, Philip didn’t know where to focus his business degree until he met Professor David Wagaman who taught him the value of accounting and how the industry needs people with communication skills to help businesses run efficiently. Philips says, “It felt like [accounting would be] a good fit because I would be able to help others improve their business while doing something that I was good at!” Attending KU was an easy choice for Philip because Kutztown’s College of Business is accredited by the AACSB, an accreditation held by only a few other schools. Also, he had familial ties to the school as his older sister was a Kutztown graduate. Over his years at KU, Philip has excelled outside of school. Philip completed three internships with the PA Department of Revenue, Penske and Global Tax Management (GTM). He was also awarded the Holly Siegfried Scholarship, which is given to two students who put a tremendous effort into the AIM program. PHILIP HOUSEKNECHT Philip Houseknecht is a senior Accounting and Finance major. Upon graduation, Philip will be working at EY. It felt like [accounting would be] a good fit because I would be able to help others improve their business while doing something that I was good at!