Most college seniors would consider themselves lucky to have a job offer by Commencement Day. Lauren Palazzi ’06 of Taunton, Mass., struck full-time employment gold well before she received her diploma.
The accountancy major received and accepted an offer of employment as a staff accountant at the Providence accounting firm of Piccerelli, Gilstein, and Co., LLP before she had even begun her first day of senior classes.
Palazzi had laid the groundwork for her early appointment by working part time at the firm during the spring semester of her junior year and worked full time the following summer. “Lauren’s outstanding performance was an indication she would be a great addition to our permanent staff,” said Sharon Roveda Kennedy C.P.A. ’83, a firm partner who had helped to mentor Palazzi as she gained hands-on experience.
After accepting the job offer, Palazzi worked at the firm part time during her entire senior year—and even received academic credit for the spring semester.
The firm’s relationship with Palazzi—and its commitment to using interns—has been a win-win situation, said Kennedy.
“Due to our size of 45 professionals we are able to show interns how the firm operates and expose them to auditing, tax, and other accounting work, unlike the “Big Four Firms” where the focus may be more narrow—hopefully the experience excites them to choose public accounting as a profession.”
Most often, said Kennedy, interns help her firm to service clients during its busy season, January through April.
“It’s typically a win-win situation,” she said. “We’ve been fortunate to have enthusiastic students who are very intelligent, professional, responsible, and who grasp concepts quickly.”
Although she was still learning the accounting ropes, Palazzi was able to offer her own contribution by teaching firm members how to use a new, paperless accounting program.
“She was instrumental in learning and then teaching other accountants how to use the program,” noted Kennedy, who emphasized Palazzi’s adaptability can, in part, be attributed to her PC liberal arts education.
“When a liberal arts background is added to a concentration in accounting, we know we are getting a well-rounded person,” she said. “Accounting is not all about the numbers. It’s also about the professional relationships you establish with clients, prospective clients, and other business associates. In Lauren, we knew we were getting a well-rounded person with good communications skills who would be capable of servicing clients.”
Palazzi is grateful for the head start her education—and her initial internship and subsequent part-time employment—provided for her entry into the working world.
“I was able to apply the theories and concepts I learned in the classroom in real-life situations,” she explained. “My liberal arts education made me more well-rounded than someone with just a business background. Western Civ, philosophy, and theology gave me a more broad background and prepared me to think critically and be successful.”
Passing it on
Palazzi hopes to one day provide a young person with the kind of mentoring she has received from Kennedy.
“She is a great role model,” said Palazzi. “She is obviously very successful in her career, but she has been able to balance her career and family. She is also active in the community and with PC.”
Kennedy’s “balancing act” involves not only her career and family but serving as a member of the College’s Providence President’s Council, an advisory body of area business, community, and young alumni leaders who offer their advice and expertise to the College’s president and administration.
Also, she is in her second year as the president of the PC Alumni Association’s “Women’s Involvement Network” (WIN), which celebrates and fosters women’s contributions to—and involvement in—the PC community.
Kennedy is completing her third year as a member of the association’s Board of Governors after joining the board four years ago as its treasurer