Accounting Night brings local businesses, Hull students together

Accounting students at the James M. Hull College of Business recently had their chance to shine at Accounting Night.

The annual event, which was held at the Dr. Roscoe Williams Ballroom in the Jaguar Student Activities Center, is an opportunity for accounting students to meet with local employers to network and share their resumes. They also talk about possible internships and potential long-term employment opportunities, said Robyn Verdery, MBA.

Students talking to person at a table — Hull College of Business students speak to one of the firms that attended Accounting Night. [Michael Holahan/Augusta University]

“Part of Accounting Night is the students get to share their resume as part of a book with all the employers that have signed up to come,” Verdery said. “This gives the employers an opportunity to see their resumes and talk with the students during Accounting Night and learn more about them and share the opportunities they have. So, it’s led to a lot of internships and some long-term employment for students.”

Joshua Hauer, a junior accounting major, attended Accounting Night for the first time. He wanted to see what firms were in attendance and hoped to make some good connections by the end of it.

“I’m excited for it,” Hauer said. “I’m seeing a lot of faces I recognize around Augusta, a lot of the bigger names. It’s a little anxiety inducing. But that’s OK, that’s why we’re here.”

One of those faces was Jordan Birdsong with SME CPAs, who was representing the Georgia Society of CPAs Augusta Chapter (GSCPA). Birdsong, a Hull alumnus, has been attending Accounting Night since he graduated in 2020.

“We’re always trying to recruit, network with students to fill our internships because we always like to pour into students by giving them that experience before they graduate,” Birdsong said. “With GSCPA, we’re telling them ways they can network with several of the organizations that are actually out here now.”

Along with networking, students heard from keynote speaker Angela Dowds, assistant director for accounts payable at Augusta University. She is a 2020 Hull graduate and described her time at the college as “amazing” when she looked back on it.

“I had to learn a lot about myself more than the stuff in the books,” she said. “Because yes, you do learn everything in the books, but learning about yourself and then having to make the corrections to yourself that you need to make, it was difficult but something that you’re glad you do after you’re able to look back.”

Students listen to a woman speaking — Hull College of Business students speak to one of the firms that attended Accounting Night. [Michael Holahan/Augusta University]

Dowds mentioned there are professors she still remembers, including Susan Murray, PhD, and Sam Park, PhD, who she took a lot of classes with. She credits the professors and Accounting Night with helping her get to where she is today because she was able to get an internship from event.

When it came to advice, Dowds told students to take ownership of their mistakes and dress for the position you want.

“When I was sitting in your seats at Accounting Night, there was never a thought of achieving this level,” Dowds said. “I was here to get my degree and just see where life took me from there. The position I have now, the environment I work in, we are in the basement of the building, so we are not forward facing. We don’t get to talk with a lot of people except on the phone. So, we don’t have a very stringent dress code, and I still dress in business casual even though it’s not required. I do that because you never know who you’re going to run into.”

Two men pose for a photo — Hull professor Sam Park, PhD, presented Scott Stevenson with the 2026 Abram J. Serotta Award. [Stephanie Hill/Augusta University]

During the event, it was announced that Scott Stevenson, chief audit officer for Augusta University, was the 2026 recipient of the Abram J. Serotta Award. The accounting faculty chose the winner of the award, which is presented to a local accountant for outstanding service to students and education while serving as an advocate for the accounting profession.

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2026 Serotta Award,” Stevenson said. “Throughout my career, I have benefited from outstanding mentors who invested their time, wisdom, and expertise in me. This recognition is especially meaningful because it suggests that, in some small way, I’ve been able to pay forward the support that so many others generously provided to me. I am grateful to the Hull College of Business for this recognition and hope to continue helping its outstanding students discover the opportunities and rewards that a profession in auditing can provide.”