UNM Anderson Students Fundraise to Attend Accounting Student Leadership Conference
December 18, 2024 - Megan Borders
Paul Cooper, a third-year undergraduate business major with a focus in finance and accounting raised funds to send students to the Institute of Management Accountants Student Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif. Students received funding from Anderson’s Priestly/Gardenswartz Experiential Learning Fund, member organizations of the IMA Wild West Council, and an eBay grant to support their trip and conference fees. Anderson accounting and finance students Ross Amestoy, Santi Huggins, Jennifer Lopez-Vargas, Jennifer Salazar and Matias Santo attended the conference with Cooper.
IMA is a global organization dedicated to advancing the accounting profession by providing education, research and networking opportunities for accounting and finance professionals. Accounting professor Jonathan Jona attended the conference as a faculty guide and describes the IMA conference as a “transformative experience for students.”
The three-day conference brought together accounting enthusiasts and professionals to learn about the accounting profession including obtaining a CMA license, financial literacy, continuous learning and ethics in the workplace. Our students got the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and created valuable connections while gaining key insights. “The conference was packed with sessions that broadened my understanding of leadership, networking and the evolving role of management accounting in business,” Cooper said.
Jona said the conference allows students to gain “exposure to the real-world applications of what they’re learning in the classroom and introduces them to industry trends and leadership strategies they don’t usually encounter in an academic setting.”
As president of UNM’s IMA chapter, Cooper is motivated and dedicated to his future career and highly recommends the conference to business students focusing on accounting and finance. Their positive experience energized and excited the students for their professional journeys.