“Most of the problems I’ve had, he’s had, too. It was great to talk to somebody who had the challenges—and made it.”

Those words from incoming accounting student Muhammad Ramjohn describe his conversation with FIU alumnus Lazaro Alfaro (MACC ’12, BACC ’11) during a “Meet the Employers” networking event on June 15, 2012, part of an Introduction to the Profession non-credit course sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

“I was the first person in my family to earn a college degree, just like Muhammad will be, and I enjoyed talking to him about college life and the profession of accounting,” Alfaro said.

“I asked questions about an accountant’s day-to-day life,” Ramjohn said. “Meeting the people from the top firms was an amazing opportunity, especially just as I’m beginning my accounting studies.”

A new accounting student from Russia, Elena Koroleva, found informal networking “very interesting” and enjoyed meeting alumni and other members of top firms.

“I was impressed with how highly these top firms value FIU and that some say they prefer recruiting an FIU student,” she said. “Now they know me and know my face.”

Koroleva and Ramjohn said Introduction to the Profession was extremely valuable.

“How kind of these people to take the time to answer questions from students,” said Koroleva.

The course is part of $520,000 in new funding by PwC to help domestic colleges and universities incorporate issues facing the accounting profession into their curricula.

“We identified FIU as a school to participate,” said Robert Conrad, Florida market sourcing leader at PwC. “PwC has had a long-standing relationship with FIU and the School of Accounting. Mario de Armas (BACC ’85), our Florida market managing partner, is an FIU graduate who seeks to support FIU whenever possible.

“FIU has consistently been a source of talent valued by our firm,” he said. “We view this as a long-term relationship where we will continue to invest our time and resources.”