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Photo courtesy Gary Kuwahara |
| Deloitte Tax executive Jess Penilla (left) will continue to mentor Georgina Escobar as she begins her career with the Big Four accounting firm. |
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Deloitte & Touche Executive and
Graduating Student Find Common Ground
As a
first generation Latino college student, Jess Penilla, director of
multi-state tax services at Big Four accounting firm
Deloitte
& Touche,
recognized how his first job at the firm changed his life. So when
he read graduating senior Georgina Escobar’s resume after speaking
on campus in March, he was astounded not only at her qualifications
but also how similar her life had been to his own. Still, because of
the firm’s yearlong recruiting process, it appeared as if it was too
late to get Escobar an interview with the firm. Yet improbably,
Escobar will begin her new role as a staff auditor at
Deloitte
& Touche in
the fall. Their story illustrates what can happen when a deserving
CSUDH student, a passionate mentor, a dash of serendipitous luck,
and a hefty dose of persistence converge. Penilla had come to campus at the request of the Accounting Society to explain his firm’s complex recruiting processes. The main problem is that Deloitte only recruits on a select number of campuses, and CSUDH is not one of them. So even though he was flooded with resumes when finishing up his visit, he knew many of the students wouldn’t have a shot at a position unless they were juniors and thus could seek out opportunities in the fall. But as he was heading into the parking lot with a few of his colleagues, he opened the folder of resumes just to see what kind of candidates CSUDH could deliver. Escobar’s resume lay on top, and her track record floored him. Not only did she have a 3.96 gpa and 4.0 in-major gpa, she had worked as a T.A. in freshman level classes, given tours of campus, tutored high-risk students, volunteered by completing income taxes for low-income community members, and received a number of other scholarships and awards. “I was just blown away. I said to my colleagues, ‘Take a look at this resume! She’s exactly the kind of person who should get this kind of opportunity,’” says Penilla. But everyone he spoke to including the recruiters back at the firm had the same response: it was too late. He still called Escobar and began a dialog with her and was able to get her a preliminary interview. Yet it seemed to end there, because of the recruiting cycle. Escobar continued her job search while Penilla poked around for opportunities within his own division. It seemed nothing was possible with a full in-coming new hire class. But then Penilla got an email that he had to read twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming: One of the new hires had backed out. With follow-up calls from Escobar and Penilla’s persistence, Escobar was brought in for a second and third interview and was then offered a position as a staff auditor beginning this September. The moment may have been more significant for Penilla than it was even for the graduating senior who was now going to be one of the only CSUDH graduates to land a job at a Big Four firm. “This was probably one of the most gratifying events of my 18 years here at Deloitte & Touche,” says Penilla. “The reason is that I’m Latino, I was a first-generation college student, and I know how working here has changed my life. Recognizing that Georgina comes from a similar background, to be able to help her join an organization like Deloitte & Touche, I know that this opportunity can affect her life in the same way.” While insisting modestly that she can’t explain why someone like Penilla would single her out, Escobar turns the praise back to Penilla. “He’s become a great mentor to me. I value that so much because I’ve tried to be a mentor to younger students on campus and know how much a relationship like that can help,” says Escobar. Escobar grew up the oldest child of two El Salvadorian immigrants who always instilled the importance of working hard and getting an education. It’s why she volunteered and participated in so much on campus, and it’s also why she never told her parents she was getting straight A’s. “They always stressed how important an education is, but also that there other important things in life like family and helping your community. I didn’t tell them what grades I received because the important part was what I was learning, not the grades,” says Escobar, whose mom is on disability and whose dad works as a security guard. “I’ve seen the struggle they’ve gone through, so I looked at it like, ‘if all I’ve got to do is get good grades, then that’s nothing.’ There are much harder things in life.” Looking at her career in front of her, Escobar is excited about the opportunity, especially learning more about the financial statements of Fortune 500 companies that she will have plenty of time to get familiar with as a part of Deloitte’s auditing arm. She chose accounting as a major because it was challenging, and she recognizes that plenty of challenges are yet to come, including the CPA exam, which she hopes to take and pass within three years. Still, explaining the significance of her job at a Big Four firm to her parent’s is a point of pride. Penilla, on the other hand, is most proud of what this will hopefully do for not only Escobar but those with whom she comes in contact. “I know an event like this can have a ripple effect for her university and for her family. I know it did in my case. My brothers, and now nieces and nephews have followed me to college, and my kids have no doubt that they will go as well. The power of that is immeasurable, and I’m hopeful that this will have a similar effect for Georgina,” he says. Both hope to continue to grow Deloitte’s recruiting on campus after this positive experience, and they also both expect to continue the mentor/apprentice relationship since Penilla has been quick to point out that landing the job is not the final goal or hardest part – there’s plenty more to come. Yet, that transition for Escobar will be made easier by knowing she has someone she can talk to who has gone through a similar experience. “Being a first-generation graduate, I don’t have many people in my family who I can go to with career concerns so to know that I can just call him on his cell and ask him advice, I appreciate that so much,” says Escobar, pausing before again passing thanks and praise onto Penilla. “He’s shown me that one person can really make a difference.” Funny, Penilla would probably say the same thing about her. |