How an Ilitch School education and an accounting internship led to a career in finance

When Jerry Porter was an accounting major at Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business, he got an amazing summer internship at Quicken Loans, where he helped verify employment statuses.

“I loved my internship because you are allowed to network with people in different departments. I got to meet so many people, including the CFO, who said she met with me because I was gutsy enough to actually email her,” he recalled with a laugh. “ I learned what people actually do day to day from 9 to 5. I learned so much about the real world, how businesses actually work and how departments look compared to other departments.”

Through this experience and Ilitch School business courses, Jerry became more interested in working in finance. But since he was just a few semesters away from graduating, he didn’t want to change his major and delay his graduation.

As Jerry prepared for graduation, he began to apply for jobs to see what career opportunities awaited him, especially in finance. It turns out that a business degree from the Ilitch School goes a long way.

The power of a bachelor of business administration from the Ilitch School

Ilitch School’s undergraduate business program provides students with both depth and breadth. While students choose to major in a specific field, such as management or global supply chain management, they still take foundational courses from expert professors across the business sphere.

“For example, if you take Intro to Accounting, you should understand how to read general ledgers and do bank reconciliation,” Jerry explained. “I only took one marketing class, and I don’t know every niche detail, but I can read and understand marketing plans.”

His broad background helped Jerry find a career in finance. After working at an accounts payable company, he began a job as a loan accountant. Then, in July 2023, Jerry started a new role as a budget analyst for Facilities Planning and Management at Wayne State. This finance role oversees the budget for any building or maintenance project done on campus.

“I pretty much reconcile everything on our budget and make sure everything is going right, which means nothing is over budget,” he explained.

Even in this finance role, his accounting background helps.

“My manager said she hired me not because I worked all these accounting jobs but because I know how to read general ledgers and can work well in many areas.”

He also credits his accounting systems information course for preparing him for the data analytics software he uses in his current role.

“I learned the ins and outs of different software accountants use, which gave me a good basis of the software I use now, which is Power BI,” he said.

Learning and networking at Wayne State

Wayne State University has been instrumental in Jerry's career success, and its affordability played a crucial role in his decision-making process.

“I would say money was my key factor in going to Wayne State,” he said. “Wayne State offered me more scholarships, and I also got a housing scholarship, so that was another key factor of me choosing Wayne State.”

Jerry enjoyed learning from distinguished faculty who supported him. One of his favorite professors was Deborah Habel, who encouraged him to work for Wayne State in the future.

“She teaches the basic accounting class that everyone has to take,” he said. “She is a person who tries her hardest to help you learn something through thick and thin. I appreciate her dedication to teaching.”

He also found opportunities outside the classroom that supported him in his educational and career goals. For example, because he lived in a Living Learning Community (LLC) for business students, he had regular meetings with Gary Shields, associate professor of teaching in management at the Ilitch School. He said Professor Shields would often bring his friend, Rico Bruce Wade, and they would lead improv games for business students on the LLC floor. While Jerry was initially skeptical, he found huge benefits to the exercises.

“Improv got me out of my shell because in business, you gotta talk to people, and in improv, you have to team up with someone you don’t know and just mesh as a group,” he explained. “I still think it’s crazy that a business professor would think to do that — and it worked.”

And, of course, he had access to tons of network connections. He joined clubs like the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and Beta Alpha Psi, a business fraternity for accounting and finance students, to make valuable connections.

“I’ve had people tell me, ‘It's not about what you know; it's about who you know.’ So, while you’re at Wayne State, always network,” he advised. “Get to know your classmates, because once you graduate school or look for a job somewhere, you can always ask your peers.”

These student groups also hosted networking events with companies, including the “Big 4” accounting firms, so students could meet partners and staff from those organizations.

A bright future with an Ilitch School education

Looking back, Ilitch School was the perfect place for Jerry to earn a business degree. He accessed an affordable education with supportive faculty, and is now working in finance.

“Wayne State is a great school to be a part of. It’s a great community,” he said. “It’s a place where you can get your degree — as long as you put in the work, you will earn that degree and learn a lot.”