Alumni and Friends Making an Impact

Focusing on his clients served Curtis Farnsel well when he worked as an accountant. Now an assistant professor of accounting at UD, his focus on clients has turned into a passion for serving his students as they navigate critical career decisions.

“Our students are here to become successful accountants, and an important aspect of that is getting a job where they are a good fit and can develop,” Farnsel said. “I feel like that’s what they’re here for, and they should get that kind of service from us to help them be successful.”

While he was a first-generation college student, Farnsel determined where to work, what kind of accounting to do and how he could get there without much external support. His personal experience, in addition to the insight he gained working in the corporate world, fueled his desire to be of service to students who, like he once was, are unsure of the next best step.

“There are a lot of areas students can go into in accounting that are very different, so it can be tough to make a decision,” Farnsel said. “Knowing they could end up anywhere, I feel it's important they should understand what the options are and I try to provide them with an unbiased perspective to help get them where they will be most comfortable.”

One of Farnsel’s undergraduate accounting students, Leo Morales-Badillo, landed an internship with Big Four accounting firm Deloitte thanks in part to Farnsel's coaching. Together they perfected Morales-Badillo’s resume and identified potential interview questions.

“It’s hard to talk about myself because I don’t want to show off. I just want to do my job, but [Farnsel] taught me not to be afraid of leading with and selling my accomplishments,” Morales-Badillo said. “He helped me get out of my comfort zone and highlight those things that are meaningful during the recruiting process with a Big Four company.”

“He helped me get out of my comfort zone and highlight those things that are meaningful during the recruiting process with a Big Four company.”

Becca Graves ’20 was working through the Bachelor’s Plus Master’s program for accounting when she approached Farnsel, who also is a sustainability scholar with the Hanley Sustainability Institute, for advice.

Graves was interested in sustainability accounting, which is hard to get into directly out of school according to Farnsel, so they focused on how she can best position herself to get that type of job when it becomes available for her. His advice helped her decide to get UD’s graduate sustainability certificate and apply for an auditing job at Ernst & Young (EY), another Big Four company, where they have dedicated sustainability accounting roles.

“I already had other job offers, but because of my conversations with Curtis, I applied for EY's core audit internship and continue to carry my passion for sustainability in my job today. It has helped me grow and network,” Graves said. “He’s a phenomenal teacher, and he’s been so willing to help me on my journey. I really appreciate the time he put into helping me explore this area of accounting.”

“He’s a phenomenal teacher, and he’s been so willing to help me on my journey. I really appreciate the time he put into helping me explore this area of accounting.”

To stay in touch with best practices and provide appropriate resources for his students, Farnsel also is a career champion with UD Career Services. The program helps faculty and staff who provide career coaching build their tools and resources in order to best advise students before directing them to career services.

“One of the philosophies behind the program is, no matter how large a career services staff is, it's impossible to help more than 11,000 students and 127,000 alumni,” said Jason Eckert, UD career services executive director. “The more people like Curtis that we can partner with and provide resources, the better we can do at spreading career support throughout campus.”

In addition to his work as a career champion and mentoring his students, Farnsel also invites representatives from Deloitte and other accounting firms into the classroom to engage in discussions and projects with students on the topics they learn in class. He also works with student groups Beta Alpha Psi and the Financial Professionals Society as their faculty adviser.

“I think it’s critical to look beyond the classroom and see what they’re actually going to do. It's important to learn the material, but it’s more important to be successful after that,” Farnsel said. “And, from a selfish perspective, it’s fun to see the outcome.”