As senior Gannon Fridley reflects on his time at Walsh University, it is the relationships with friends, professors, staff and alumni that stand out most to him. “The relationships at Walsh are what make the campus,” he says.
Many of those relationships were forged through Gannon’s involvement with activities such as Leaders in Social Justice, Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund, Student Institute of Management Accountants and the Student Alumni Association. In fact, a connection with a Walsh alum helped pave the way for his first internship with Cohen & Company.
“I’ve had two internships with Cohen & Company, one in tax and one in audit,” he said. “It was nice because I had the opportunity to learn about what I like and don’t like in each area. I kind of found my niche in audit.”
In fact, Gannon has already secured full-time employment with Cohen & Company – for October 2024. In the meantime, he’ll finish his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Walsh, enroll in graduate school for his Master of Accountancy and sit for the CPA exam. He is currently completing his capstone project working with the financial health nonprofit FinMango.
“The accounting program at Walsh is structured really well. Faculty incorporate real-world benchmarks and situations into their curriculum. Through participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, I not only learned more about the field but also was able to give back to the community.”
