Staff Accountant
New Apostolic Church, National Headquarters, Chicago
Akilah is completing an MBA through the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago; she expects to finish in 2006.
She is pictured at her Chicago office.
Area of Finance specialization: Business/Organizational Financial Management
Hometown: Harvey, Illinois
FIL 240 Business Finance. That introductory class helped me overcome my nervousness and develop confidence in my abilities, and it ultimately convinced me to become a Finance major.
Too many to count! I actually liked living in Watterson Towers for three years, where I worked for Night Operations. I also worked at the McDonald's that used to be in the Bone Student Center, which was a great place to meet people and a fun place, sometimes a crazy place, to work. Then there was my apartment on Locust Street , where we had so many good times. And above all my Greek organization, the lovely ladies of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority; I send my love to all in the Blue and White Family.
Right after graduating I was an internal auditor for a major bank, where my daily duties required both general financial knowledge and an understanding of how financial institutions operate. But I was always interested in the not-for-profit sector, and now I work in the accounting department of the New Apostolic Church (NAC), which has more than 300 churches worldwide. I deal primarily with accounts receivable and special projects. In A/R I deal with large donations, reconciliation of month-end reports, and general ledgers. My special projects consist of analyzing financial data and giving opinions on the information I have analyzed. I do strategic analysis of expense budgets, revenue budgets, and bank accounts. Things I learned in the Finance program have obviously been very important to me in both of my jobs.
You should expect to study hard, but if you manage your time well you can succeed in your classes and also be involved in important outside activities. I worked a lot of hours every week to pay my school expenses, so it was really nice to have access to professors whose doors were open to students, who were willing to answer questions. I appreciate the help and encouragement I got at Illinois State.
