Financing her Accounting Education through Scholarships

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Gabriella Farino

Tax Accountant, family business

Class of 2020
BBA in Accounting/MS in Taxation

Member Of: Beta Alpha Psi, Ernst & Young Fund For Excellence In Accounting Education, PCAOB Scholarship

Meet Gabriella Farino '20, a New York native pursuing a BBA in Public Accounting and MS in Taxation. Her active involvement as a student leader during her time at Pace hasn't gone unnoticed. As a student in Pace's Pforzheimer's Honors College and President of the Pace chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, Gabriella is now a recipient of the Ernst & Young Fund for Excellence in Accounting Education scholarship and the 2019 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board scholarship. Although it is clear that Gabriella spends a lot of time studying, she hasn't let this get in the way of her passion for traveling. This past summer she got to visit five different countries! Get to know more about her Pace Path here.

Why did you choose Pace University and the Lubin School of Business?

I chose Pace University because I loved the location. There is no place like Manhattan, especially downtown by Wall Street where there are so many job opportunities and so much to experience. I chose the Lubin School of Business because it offered an amazing combined degree program for accounting students seeking a CPA designation, where they can receive their 150 credits to sit for the exam, while getting a master's degree too!

I have been at Deloitte for over a year now, working in their Private Wealth Tax Practice. My experiences have been incredible! I get to see so many different aspects of tax that I truly don't believe I would get to see anywhere else. I also get to see what the workforce at a public accounting firm is really like, from getting the freedom to work from home, to bonding with my team, to getting to participate in firm-sponsored events.

Tell us a bit about your internship experiences. How will you apply what you learned at your internships to the rest of your career? What comes next?

The summer going into my second year at Pace University, I secured an internship at Goldman Sachs in their State and Local Indirect Tax department. Interning at Goldman Sachs was a great experience and it expanded how I think about tax. Before my third year of college, I decided to go on to work at a Big Four Accounting firm. I have been at Deloitte for over a year now, working in their Private Wealth Tax Practice. Interning at Deloitte has been an incredible experience! I get to see so many different aspects of tax that I truly don't believe I would get to see anywhere else. I also get to see what the workforce at a public accounting firm is really like, from getting the freedom to work from home, to bonding with my team, to getting to participate in firm-sponsored events. I am super excited to say, I will be starting my CPA journey this upcoming winter and then I will be starting with Deloitte full time upon graduation

Congratulations on being one of the 207 recipients of the 2019 PCAOB scholarship! What motivates you to work hard?

Living in New York City is my motivation to work hard and strive for the next best. I feel like there is always something new and exciting to be discovered and you can't stop working hard if you ever want to achieve it. I have also been more than lucky to have had my parents help finance my education at Pace. If there is anything I can do to pay them back with gratitude, I will.

Do you have any advice for other Lubin students looking for internships?

I would tell them to join student organizations. I would not be where I am now if I didn't join Beta Alpha Psi as a freshman. You might not realize how much you are developing personally and professionally through the connections you make while you're going through the motions, but it is all so beneficial.

What does #LubinLife mean to you?

#LubinLife to me means that there are so many opportunities that Lubin offers and you need to take advantage of them. You only get to go through college once and you should make the most of it because before you know it, you will be on to the next exciting stage of your life.