It's a Miracle!

I got a response in my e-mail today from PwC that welcomed me to the firm. That was one of the most comforting e-mails that I have ever received. It's amazing to think how far Laura and I have come in the past couple of years. It wasn't too long ago that I was completely confused as to what I was to do. As of a year ago, I had no major, no interest in any major (considering that the one I wanted to do I couldn't) and no idea what I was going to do for a living let alone for the next few years. Then, by some miracle, I got accepted into the accounting program. Since that time I have met wonderful friends in the accounting program, created relationships with professors and members of accounting firms and honor societies, and learned a great deal about the business world. I have also had opportunities to meet with accounting firms, and that is what this blog post is about.
A few months ago accounting firms were interviewing for summer internships. Laura and I have always wanted to move back to the Los Angeles area, so I was always planning on doing an internship there. Then one day, my brother Greg suggested that we try to get an internship in the D.C. area because that is where he had moved to and I guess he figured that having an accountant close by would be helpful. So, Laura and I talked about it for a while and we decided that we may as well give it a shot; after all, if we didn't like the area we could always go back to L.A. So, I applied to Deloitte, Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Deloitte didn't have any openings in the area, so they were out of the question. I interviewed with Grant Thornton, E&Y, and PwC on campus and met some really nice partners from each firm. It was quite the stressful process considering that it all happened during exam week. A couple of weeks later I got e-mails and phone calls from E&Y and PwC offering me a flyback interview (Grant Thornton declined) and I figured that I would give it a shot even though I was really nervous. I had even considered not doing an internship because I was so scared to go to the east coast. It's not that it is such a scary place, it is just that Laura and I have never lived over there and Laura had never even been over there before going to Jacob's baptism. So, I accepted the invitation and prepared for round two of interviews.
The flyback to visit with PwC went very smoothly. The flight was great, I got to stay at the Ritz Carlton and have dinner at Maggianos. The recruiter was fantastic and the people that I met were great. Everything could not have gone smoother, and that scared me a little bit. For me, nothing goes that well, and I had never considered working for a company like PwC (a multi-billion dollar company working with multi-billion dollar companies) because I had always planned on being a magician or a school teacher or something. The whole experience was incredible and I knew that I wanted to work for a firm like PwC. The interviews themselves went very well and I had a very good feeling about the whole experience. One down, one to go.
A couple of weeks later I flew back to D.C. (Laura came along with me using dad's delta points) to interview with E&Y and again, stayed at the Ritz Carlton and ate at a great restaurant. Unfortunately one partner could not be at the dinner table because he was ill, and the other partner at the table came very late. This evening turned out to be a little difficult to get a good picture of what Ernst and Young was like. The next day a few more people were sick and it affected the interview process in a negative way. I only get this chance to see the McLean office and I have to make a decision off of what I encounter, and so far this hadn't been a totally positive experience. By the end of the day things had gotten better, but overall I had been more impressed with the office of PwC over E&Y. Now it was time to make a decision.
When I came home I was really confused as to what I should do. I loved my visit with PwC, but I knew that my visit with E&Y was probably a fluke and that I could be just as happy there. As I began sharing my experience with people, Greg suggested that I talk with the recruiters and professors and professionals. So, I talked to my financial teacher, professor Budd, and she gave me some great life advice- when she chose a firm, it was the firm her husband was comfortable with. I then talked to recruiters and Phillip from Greg's ward in Virginia who happens to work for PwC. Everyone had great advice and really helped in the decision making process, but when I talked with Phillip, he really washed away any fears that Laura and I had. In the end, it came down to where did I fit? I decided that I fit in the office of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and have felt good about that decision ever since I made it.
Laura and I are now preparing to go to Washington D.C. and for the first time live on the east coast. We are excited for all of the new experiences, good and bad, that we will have over there and we have now come to the conclusion that we could live over there if that were the right thing to do. We have gone from feeling excited to feeling scared to now feeling relieved that everything has worked out and that we feel okay about the entire decision of working for the firm I will be working for in the location that I will be working in. We have seen the blessings of heaven poured out and thank Heavenly Father for preparing both of us to come to this crossroads and get through successfully. I know that this is a usual path for many graduates and seems routine for any individual going through the accounting program at BYU; however, it was anything but routine for Laura and me. This truly has been a miracle in our eyes and we truly feel very blessed.