Building a career with numbers Black Hills State University student readies for graduation, targets career in accounting

By Andrew Weeks

When Cassandra Ryckman enrolled at Black Hills State University, she didn’t have an interest in becoming an accountant. Now, it’s a career path that excites her to no end.

Ryckman is an accounting major at the university in Spearfish, South Dakota, and will graduate this spring after spending the past four years at the school. It’s been a fun-filled adventure, she told Prairie Business, one that has kept her busy and has prepared her well for the next steps in her journey through life and work.

Choosing to major in the numbers field – even though she wasn’t excited about it at first – came easy for her once she gave it a try. Her mom might have had something to do with that.

“My mom is an accountant and she highly encouraged me to do accounting,” Ryckman said, noting she questioned it at first and didn’t think she was going to pursue it. But then she decided otherwise, got into the school’s accounting program, and was influenced by her professors. She noticed they had the same passion as her mom did for accounting and that helped propel her forward.

Her take on it now: “I think it’s so exciting because when you get the debits and credits to balance, there’s just something about it. It’s problem-solving, getting the answer, and your job is always different; you’re never doing the same thing.”

Besides focusing on her academics, Ryckman is involved with a number of clubs on campus, serving as president and vice president, respectively. They include Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honors club; investment and marketing clubs; and campus ministries. She said they all have been “amazing” to be a part of and have helped her to hone her communication and leadership skills.

“The clubs have been a large part of my enjoyment here,” she said, explaining that BHSU has been an exceptional place for her to learn and grow as a student and individual. She enjoys the size of the campus, its cultural diversity, and the opportunity it has given her to meet students from many countries and backgrounds.

“That’s one of my favorite parts, all of the friends that I have (who come from countries) like Pakistan and South Korea and different places around the world,” she said.

She also appreciates the on-campus job fairs and internship opportunities the school helps students to tap. When Ryckman spoke with Prairie Business in February, she said she was getting ready to intern with a firm in Spearfish, where she expected to keep busy during tax season. As such, she was excited for the on-thejob experiences it would provide.

Instructors at the school encourage internships, and Ryckman has nothing but good things to say about her teachers. They not only have helped increase her knowledge of the accounting and business fields, but have inspired her to set an agenda for her future career and life outside of school.

In turn, they say this about Ryckman: “Cassandra brings a consistent level of enthusiasm into the classroom that is difficult to match,” said accounting instructor Christopher Wardell. “She is an engaged and active participant during our discussions of the material, and her aptitude makes it so that I never have to worry about her not earning top marks across her graded work.”

Good accountants are generally filtered into two categories – those who are naturally inclined to numbers and those with good interpersonal skills, according to Wardell. “It is an exceptional accountant that can combine these disparate skill sets, and Cassandra has distinguished herself in the classroom as being one who should have no issues demonstrating both of these sides in practice,” he said.

Closer to the vest for Ryckman, as a woman of faith she credits God for any successes she has or will yet achieve and hopes her life’s work will be a reflection of that belief. If she were to have a motto or theme of her career, it’d be this: “I will do my best work for others, because my motivation in life does not come from myself, it comes from God, and doing all to glorify Him.”

Ryckman is excited about the future and offers this advice for anyone considering a career in accounting: “Just do it,” she said. “Absolutely pursue this career. It is a rewarding job where you get to problem solve and help others.”