WHEN CATHY WORKS HELMBRECHT ’85 WAS GROWING UP IN DALLAS, COLLEGE HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE EXPECTED NEXT STEP. HOWEVER, EXPECTATIONS DON’T PAY TUITION. “We were a family of five with a single mother, so we had to make our own way,” she said. Coming from a family of college graduates, she knew there was no question that she would pursue higher education, it was merely a matter of how. Her prospects brightened when she was awarded several scholarships to attend Texas A&M. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through school without that help,” she said. The multiple scholarship donors’ generosity was the catapult to a history of proven success. Helmbrecht has spent her thirty-four-year career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the largest professional ser vices company in the world. She is currently a partner based at the company’s Dallas office.
CATHY HELMBRECHT: MAXIMIZING IMPACT THROUGH CORPORATE MATCHING FUNDS
FINDING HER PAT H A ND HELPING T ODAY ’S S T UDEN T S FIND T HEIRS She discovered her true vocation—accounting—while at Texas A&M. “I didn’t even know what accounting was,” she said. “I was a computer science major, and my adviser said I needed a minor and suggested accounting, so I took ACCT 229 the first semester of my freshman year. A year and a half later, I realized I enjoyed accounting much more than computer science and made the switch.” Since graduating in 1985, Helmbrecht has generously given back, returning to campus repeatedly to give presentations and mentor students. “I want to share my experiences so that students understand what you have to do to be successful,” she said. To Helmbrecht, that means much more than just talking about the highlights of her distinguished career. “You’ve got to tell your story—to speak candidly,” she said. “Don’t just share the good parts, but also share the tough parts. Students need to know how you came through them and how they may have changed you.”
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MAYS BUSINESS SCHOOL