At the University of Dayton, there is a culture of students holding the door open for one another. At the School of Business Administration, there is a culture of upperclassmen opening doors to internship opportunities for newer Flyers. That’s the spirit behind Meet the Firms, the School of Business Administration’s accounting-focused career fair hosted twice a year by student leaders in the Accounting Club and Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), who just earned international recognition as a Silver Chapter.
For senior students Allison Smith (President of Beta Alpha Psi and Accounting and Management Information Systems majors) and Andrew Farkas (President of the Accounting Club and Accounting major), Meet the Firms is more than an event on the calendar. It’s a commitment to helping first- and second-year students clearly understand the fast-moving hiring timeline of the accounting profession so they can approach networking, internships and career planning with confidence.
A career fair built for the reality of accounting
If you’re new to the world of accounting, one thing surprises almost everyone: the internship recruiting timeline starts early—sometimes years in advance. Although Meet the Firms is held in Ohio, many of the organizations in the room are hiring for offices across the country.
“The Big Four is going to recruit practically two years ahead,” Andrew said. He shared that he secured his summer 2026 internship at his first Meet the Firms in fall 2024, illustrating how early the process can move.
Even “mid-sized” and local firms are trending earlier. The overall direction is clear: students need information and confidence sooner than many expect, and opportunities are not limited by geography. That’s exactly the gap Meet the Firms is designed to close.
“Lowering the burden” for first- and second-year students
Both Allison and Andrew remember what it felt like to attend Meet the Firms as first-year students: curious, unsure, and honestly a little nervous.
“I was 100% nervous. I won’t deny that,” said Andrew. “But there’s no reason to be scared, because the interview and networking process is really to see who you are as a person. You’re trying to find a firm that fits you. That’s the great part about accounting, you are truly interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you.”
That mindset—reduce stress, increase clarity, and support early action—is central to their leadership.
Preparing students before they ever walk into Meet the Firms
Meet the Firms is powerful, but Allison and Andrew wanted students to feel confident before the first handshake. They built a series of support opportunities leading up to the event:
- Accounting 201 class visits: “Accounting 201 students are sophomores, and that is the prime time firms want to recruit you. They want to hire you,” said Andrew, who visited classes to promote the Accounting Club and Meet the Firms.
- Recruitment presentations: They created sessions for Accounting Club and Beta Alpha Psi members on the accelerated recruiting timeline and networking best practices.
- Practice Meet the Firms: A pre-event with young firm representatives gave students a low-stakes space to practice conversations. If students were too nervous, Andrew and Allison offered to take the first practice.
- One-on-one support: “One of the girls I know pretty well reached out to me asking if she could have a video call with me regarding Meet the Firms, just to go over her LinkedIn, resume and pick my brain about what it's like and how to prepare,” said Allison. “I think just being willing to help students who may be nervous is always something we’ve been trying to do.”
That outreach worked.
Record-breaking turnouts despite record-breaking weather
The results for the 2025-2026 academic year were tangible. Meet the Firms saw a record turnout, with more than 200 students and 35 firms in attendance in the fall.
The spring semester’s Meet the Firms, traditionally a smaller event due to firms’ recruitment cycle, faced uncertainty after a record-breaking, level-three snow emergency in January that disrupted travel across the region. UD was closed for two days, leaving the event in question.
“We had an email chain running that was like ‘do we think we can do this?’” explained Andrew. “We decided we needed to do this. Not for us, but for the students’ last in-person event of the semester to network and secure an internship or full-time position.”
Even with nearly 14 inches of snow, about 150 students and 21 firms attended with minimal firm cancellations. Many firms that couldn’t attend in person still sent recruiting materials and encouraged students to connect directly with their recruiters, ensuring opportunities weren’t lost.
Some organizations, including new participants such as JPMorgan Chase, even traveled despite the weather, underscoring strong demand for UD business students.
Why do the firms show up? Because they know the quality of UD students.
Skills that matter—and networking that leads somewhere
“I think what firms really like about UD students is that we are personable,” said Andrew. “But we can work. It’s a tough balance, and UD has that perfect balance. Our classes are hard, so if we’re challenging ourselves nine months out of the year in class, I am going to excel in my internship.”
Rigorous courses, but never without help. “The professors make a huge difference here. The accounting department is something special,” said Allison.
The UD “cycle” of support—and why it matters
When asked why upper-class students invest so much time in helping younger students, Andrew credits the UD culture.
“I’ve never heard anyone talk about the ‘community’ of UD like this, but I really think it is a cycle. When I was a first-year student, I had someone who helped me,” said Andrew. “I feel responsible to pass on the support that I had. I want to help them.”
The alumni show up, too.
“There’s always a UD alum that wants to help,” said Allison. “The UD alumni have paved the way for all us.” Both Andrew and Allison said that their recruiters were UD alums and played a vital role in their internships and full-time placements.
Andrew and Allison both agree that the support never stops. Seniors help first-years. Alumni help seniors. Partners return to campus. The cycle continues and students feel it.
