How the Ilitch School helped Shavonté Ross go from assistant to Big 4 auditor

Shavonté Ross works as an Audit & Assurance In-Charge at Deloitte, one of the Big 4 accounting firms. But in 2017, she was three months into a job as the assistant to a medical office manager, feeling unfulfilled and looking for a more challenging career.

She thought back to the courses she enjoyed while earning her associate degree and realized her favorite was the medical office accounting class.

“It had this one project where I had to balance the ledger. It was a headache, and it was hard, but I felt really accomplished after completing it,” Ross recalled. “So, I thought, ‘How can I do more of that?”’

When she started looking into accounting programs, she discovered Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business was just down the street from her workplace.

“Everything just aligned with what I was looking for: the proximity, the accreditation, the course content,” Ross said. “I walked to the campus to get more information and walked out with a full schedule. It was meant to be.”

From accounting major at the Ilitch School to Deloitte employee

Ross enrolled in the bachelor’s in accounting program and immediately immersed herself in the Ilitch School. She picked up an additional major in information systems during her first semester and, during her sophomore year, began an internship at Deloitte as an Audit & Assurance Intern.

At the same time, Ross worked two jobs — one as a liaison at the Detroit Athletic Club and the other as a student assistant to the dean of the School of Business. That’s when Ross realized she needed a better balance for her life if she wanted to succeed as an Ilitch School student.

“By the time I finished my internship with Deloitte, my accounting GPA was a C,” she sighed. “My managers were all telling me how much they really wanted me to work there after graduation, and they said, ‘The best advice we can give you is stop working so much,’ and of course they were right.”

It was then that the entire world came to a halt in the spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“It was a blessing in disguise for me,” she said. “I got more sleep. I did better in my classes. For a period of time, the Detroit Athletic Club closed. I still worked for the dean’s office, but they had me set up at home so I could still transfer calls and work.”

By being able to focus more on her courses, Ross’s grades improved, and she thrived. She even won a $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) for her achievements in accounting.

Despite her academic success, Ross was surprised when one of the managers she worked for at Deloitte messaged her after graduation. The two had hit it off during her internship and even connected a few times while Ross was still in school.

“She reached out and was like, ‘So, you’re coming to work for us,’” Ross said, laughing. “She did backflips to make sure that I got into Deloitte, and now I’m here.”

The power of networking at the Ilitch School

Ross credits the networking opportunities at the Ilitch School for helping advance her accounting career. She said without the relationships she built over the years, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

“Sometimes we don’t see the benefit of a connection because you just met the person, but honestly, those first impressions really last,” she advised. “It’s stored in the back of their heads like, ‘Oh yeah, they were great,’ and it becomes a building block, and then the benefits come back tenfold, especially when you maintain the relationship.”

An important resource Ross encourages students to access is the Ilitch School’s Career Services office, which provides professional development resources to help students and alumni revise their résumé, network and find job opportunities. She said helping out at the office’s recruiting events can give students a competitive edge.

“What people don't realize is the volunteers who help with those setups actually get their résumés put together into a portfolio by Career Planning and Placement*,” she explained. “Then, those go to each of the businesses that come to the fair, and so we get the first introduction to them. That’s how I got both of my internships during my time at Wayne State.”

Giving back as an accounting mentor

Another resource Ross accessed was the Ilitch School’s Multicultural Professional Readiness Education Program, also known as MPREP. This program helps multicultural students succeed academically and professionally by connecting them to mentors who can help answer questions or offer encouragement.

“I’m still close with my MPREP mentor,” she said. “I can say, ‘Can I run this by you? Can you listen to this and tell me what you think?’ It’s great having these connections.”

And now that Ross fully cemented her place in the accounting world, she’s ready to give back to the Ilitch School community.

“Now I’m coming full circle. I’m putting in my application to be a mentor for MPREP,” Ross said. “Next year, I can tell that student, ‘I got you.’”

*The Ilitch School’s Career Planning and Placement Office has since been renamed to Career Services.