To Budapest and Back

Kim Sunada balances playing a varsity sport, the workload of the business school, and student organizations while still finding time to study abroad and compete in Tax Competitions as a member of our highly successful W&M Tax Team. How have her experiences challenged and helped prepare this Canadian native for her future career? Kim's thoughts are below:

About Me

I am an international student from Canada and also a senior player on the William & Mary Women's Varsity Soccer team. During my experience at W&M I have become involved in organizations such as the Gibb's Accounting Society and the Pi Beta Phi sorority. My academic career was enhanced by my study abroad trip with the Business School to Budapest and others parts of Eastern Europe. This semester I participated in Prof. James Smith's Tax Competition class and I represented W&M at both the regional and national tax competitions.

Highlights

One of my highlights was doing the business "Block" (Integrated Foundation Semester) in the spring of my second year at W&M. I became quite close with many of the students in the classes. I also really enjoyed the fact that the block exposed me to many different aspects of the business world.

Being in my sport's "off-season" when I took the block, allowed me to get more involved and fully participate with my business team. I didn't have as many soccer commitments as I would in the fall.

Another highlight was joining the Gibb's Accounting Society, which helped expand my knowledge of the Accounting field and allowed me to plan for important events such as accounting panels, networking events, and Meet the Firms Friday.

Defining Moment

A defining moment was having the chance to travel to Budapest through the Business School's summer study abroad program. The trip allowed me to explore parts of Eastern Europe and to see how business was done in other parts of the world. I also made many close friends from the trip, most of who I probably wouldn't have met otherwise.

Future Plans

I plan to return to Canada after I graduate in May, 2010. I want to pursue my Chartered Accountant (CA) designation and hopefully work in Calgary for the next few years with one of the "Big Four" accounting firms. I believe that my Individual Program of Study (IPS) has allowed me to develop the different skills needed to be successful in my career. I have learned to manage my time, think critically, embrace diversity and work extremely hard. I always love to challenge myself and I know this will help me excel in the future.