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Alumni Achievements

Additional Alumni Achievements


Featured Alum
Ryan Symes, ’08
Major: Accounting

Current Position: Accountant for Moss Adams LLP practice in downtown Spokane. Accounting Professor "Heather Rogers influenced me the most in my career choice. She was my advisor, and she encouraged me to give accounting a try. I ended up liking it and here I am now, working at an accounting firm."

Why Whitworth? "The campus, the faculty I met, and mostly (basketball) Coach Hayford were key. All of the people I met seemed as though they were down to earth and enjoyed what they were doing. I figured if they liked being here, there is a good chance I could like being here."

Whitworth Activities: "I played basketball during the 2006-07 and 07-08 seasons and we won conference championships both years. There is a great tradition at Whitworth and I am glad that I was a part of it for two years. The guys on the team were great and the coaching staff did a great job of preparing us for upcoming challenges. There are a lot of things I learned on the basketball court that carry over in life as well as the workforce. Those two years at Whitworth were incredible and I will never forget the great experiences that I had."

Influential Whitworth Experience: "I'd say the high expectations that the professors have of you for each class and the fact that they won't settle for anything less. It forces you to demand the best of yourself and all companies like that."

Career Goals: "All I know is that I'd like to be doing something that I am passionate about. Whether it is accounting or anything else, Whitworth has prepared me to succeed in whatever I'm doing."


Here's what some Whitworth graduates are doing with their economics & business degrees:

• Scott Donnell, '08 (theology and business management double major), is enrolled in the Acton MBA Program in entrepreneurship, which is ranked one of the best programs of its type in the country.
  

• Amber Matthai, '07 (marketing and business management double major), is account manager/recruiting coordinator for Kelly Services Microsoft.
  
  
• Suzy Rains, '07 (marketing and business management double major), is a recruiting coordinator for U.S. talent acquisition for Nike, Inc.
  
  
• Ashley Wilson, '07 (marketing and international business double major), is an e-commerce coordinator for Jones Soda, in Seattle.
  
  
• Joshua Breda, '06 (economics and business management double major), is a finance support analyst at The Boeing Company.
  
  
• Scott Butcher, '05 (accounting and business management double major), finance programmer at General Electric Company
  
  
• Erin Pangborn, '05 (business management and accounting double major), earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Washington and is an audit associate with the accounting firm KPMG LLP, in Seattle.
  
  
• Lisa (Bakker) Ray, '05 (marketing and business management double major), is a marketing coordinator for CBA: The Association for Christian Retail, in Colorado Springs.