Alanna Pundsack participated in Minnesota Business Venture (MBV) back in 2012, and we have had the pleasure of reconnecting with her to see what she has been up to!
She attended MBV in ninth grade, which was her first time ever visiting a college campus. She was motivated to participate because she wanted to learn about business in a hands-on way from real life professionals and to gain experience living on a college campus.
The team building activities and business presentations were very educational for her. She even became long distance pen pals with a student she befriended after camp ended. Alanna attributes MBV to helping shape her career aspirations and interest in business, finances, and accounting. MBV was the first place she learned about financial statements and that “assets plus liabilities equal stockholders equity” (the classic accounting formula)! She realized at MBV that she did want to study accounting in college, which is what she went on to do and pursued in her career.
She has achieved a a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota, and a master’s degree in accounting with data analytics from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and currently working for KPMG, who is also one of our funding partners!
It is great to see that Alanna learned so much about financial literacy and her passions. When asked if she had a message for the donors, volunteers, and educators that have made MBV possible, she said “As a student who participated in MBV, I can say firsthand how much BestPrep’s programs greatly impact the lives of students all across Minnesota. Just like I did, students can genuinely envision a future where business is for them because there is a supportive community of business professionals, educators, and donors who want to see them succeed.
BestPrep provides hundreds of students each year the opportunity to learn new technical and interpersonal skills that they take with them long after the programs are complete. As someone who supports this mission, you are keeping the great work that BestPrep does accessible for all students.”
On that note, thank you to all who have made MBV and BestPrep’s programs possible!