"They really work to get us connections in great companies..."

College of Business |

After an introduction course to accounting, Austin White saw his future begin to take shape in the College of Business Administration and decided to pursue accounting and management information systems.

“Accounting opens your eyes to different parts of business you had no idea you would have to do,” White said. “In different projects that we’ve done, you have to make a model or examine a fake business, and there are little things you have to check, fix or account for that I would have never thought of before. It gives you good business sense.”

According to White, some of his most valuable learning experiences have been class trips to various businesses and companies in Little Rock as well as the career fairs including “Meet the Firms,” an annual event that invites accounting professionals to come meet current students.

“I interviewed with people whom I would have never known about before. Our department brings a ton of people on campus to interview with so we can get a foot in the door. They really work to get us connections in great companies or cities we want to get into.”

White attributes some of his closest friendships to being involved in a social club, getting to know the guys living in his hall, and studying abroad.

“Living in the dorms has been awesome because we all have to be in there at curfew, so we all just get to hang out together. It’s been fun and you make a lot of really good friends that way,” White said. “Going to Greece I made a lot of friends and it was awesome being able to travel and get to know the professors there. It was a fantastic experience I would have never had without going to Harding.”

While some students find it necessary to change their major after their first year, White knew after his freshman year that, to get the most out of his time at Harding, what he needed more than anything was a change in perspective.

“You can have a really positive experience at Harding or you can have a really negative experience; it’s whatever you decide, but Harding puts you in a place where you can have an incredible positive experience,” White said. “You can have relationships that you’ll have for the rest of your life, you can have spiritual growth if you choose it and meaningful relationships with professors. I truly don’t believe you could have all of that at larger universities. It really is about your attitude when you come in whether or not you’ll have that experience.”