Motivated accounting student set for grad school success
Lakeland University’s accounting program and its many graduates have a lengthy track record of success over the years.
Time to add another accolade to the list.
Lakeland senior Madison (Mitty) Schwartz, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting this month, has been awarded a full tuition academic fellowship from North Carolina State University, where she will pursue her Master of Accounting degree.
Schwartz, of Fox Lake, Wis., is graduating from LU in just three years as she earned numerous college credits taking dual-credit courses at Beaver Dam High School. She was named Lakeland’s 2023 recipient of the Outstanding Student in Accounting award.
She came to Lakeland largely due to the Cooperative Education program, which pairs LU students with Co-Op partner companies and organizations where they earn wages and academic credit for their work. She had a tax internship at Huberty as a sophomore, served as an audit intern and was back this spring working in tax.
“I remember chatting on the phone with her supervisor at Huberty at that time, and she said Mitty was doing such a phenomenal job that they wanted her back again the next year,” said Lakeland Professor of Accounting Brett Killion. “She finished her second tax season with a wealth of real-world experience.”
Schwartz met with Killion early in her Lakeland experience to map out an academic plan, which included taking online/evening classes to free up her days for work.
“I needed to stay motivated and dedicated and stick to my plan,” said Schwartz, who was named a 2021 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Scholar-Athlete Award as a member of the Lakeland softball team. “I knew the Co-Op program would create opportunities for me and it has. It feels like home here.”
After graduating from NC State, Schwartz hopes to work at a public accounting firm in North Carolina.
“Accounting is very satisfying work to do,” she said. “It’s really relevant to everyone’s life.”
Schwartz was recently featured on a panel of speakers at Lakeland’s high school forensic accounting competition, where she talked about her journey and shared advice.
“Don’t be afraid to take any opportunity, even if you’re a freshman,” she said. “You never know where it might lead.”
