NRCC News

NRCC accounting grad counts her blessings

May 08 2018

This is an archived article!

This article was published on May 08 2018 and was archived on May 09 2019. The information below may be outdated or inaccurate.

This year is full of exciting new chapters for New River Community College graduate Emily Woolwine. In December she received an associate degree, and this year she landed a new job and will begin classes at Radford University.

Woolwine, of Blacksburg, graduated from NRCC in December with an associate degree in accounting. In January, she began a job with Moog, Inc., in the accounting department working as a fixed asset accountant. While she’s still new to the job, Woolwine says she enjoys being able to apply what she learned in college. In the fall, she will begin classes for her bachelor’s degree in accounting at Radford University.

Her interest in accounting stems from her family. Her dad is an accountant, so Woolwine said she grew up around the profession and found that she was good at it. Growing up with an accountant as a parent, Woolwine says she was taught about money and budgeting from a young age and even opened an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) at the age of 16. She also saw accounting as a field with so many different avenues and a good job market.

While a full-time student, Woolwine also worked full time at a Holiday Inn. With a busy schedule, she liked that NRCC offered online and night classes that provided flexibility. Besides the flexible class options, her favorite aspect of the program was the instructors. “The teachers in the accounting department are amazing. They’re actually how I found this job (with Moog).”

NRCC’s faculty members selected Woolwine as the outstanding student in accounting for the President’s Awards Ceremony at the college in late April.

“I have taught thousands of students during my nearly three decade teaching career and remember the great ones,” says Ray Wurzburger, associate professor of accounting. “Emily was definitely a great student, very intelligent, motivated and well mannered. I’m extremely pleased she is planning to further her education beyond NRCC and know she will do very well in both her education and career.”

When not working or taking classes, Woolwine says she enjoys being outdoors with her dog and volunteering at the Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center.

Woolwine says her future career goal is to work for the FBI with forensic accounting and join the U.S. Army. “I’m interested in the FBI because I want to do something meaningful and still be able to use accounting,” she says of her career goals.

Reflecting on her time at NRCC, Woolwine says she chose the college because it’s affordable, close to home and the transfer agreements made transferring to Radford University easy. “I was able to save money and get the same quality, so it’s definitely worth it,” she says.