Shaping the Future of Accounting with Technology Insights from Sarah Langham
This week on the Be Epic podcast, Brent welcomes Sarah Langham, a partner and office managing partner at HoganTaylor and an alum of the Walton College. They delve into Sarah's journey from her education at Walton College to her professional growth in accounting, highlighting her transition from Ernst and Young to HoganTaylor. Sarah discusses the significant growth of HoganTaylor, her engaging role with diverse clients, and the evolving landscape of the accounting industry influenced by technology and automation. She emphasizes the shift from mundane tasks to critical thinking in the field, and the potential future changes in the structure of accounting careers. Join them as they explore how modern accounting practices are adapting to new technologies and preparing the next generation for a dynamic workplace.
Transcript
Take advantage of the opportunities and do a lot
Sarah Langham:of things. But don't feel like you have to do every single
Sarah Langham:thing or that you're comparing yourself to other people like
Sarah Langham:enjoy the experience for what it is because this is a special
Sarah Langham:time that you don't get to go back and, and redo.
Brent Williams:Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast brought to you
Brent Williams:by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of
Brent Williams:Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll
Brent Williams:explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the
Brent Williams:strategies, insights and stories that drive business today. Well,
Brent Williams:today I have with me, Sarah Langham, and Sarah is a partner
Brent Williams:with HoganTaylor, and is the office managing partner in the
Brent Williams:local office in Northwest Arkansas and alum of the Walton
Brent Williams:College. So Sarah, thank you for being here today.
Sarah Langham:Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be
Sarah Langham:here.
Brent Williams:Well, I've known Sarah for quite a while. And she
Brent Williams:has been not only engaged with engaged within the community,
Brent Williams:but engaged at the Walton College for years. But maybe
Brent Williams:before we kind of get into some of what you see happening in
Brent Williams:your industry, maybe a little bit one about your background,
Brent Williams:and then some about familiarizing our listeners with
Brent Williams:HoganTaylor.
Brent Williams:Right, so as you mentioned, I am a graduate of the Walton College
Brent Williams:two times. So as a CPA, I have a master's in accounting. And it
Brent Williams:was great to be able to stay here for a fifth year and learn
Brent Williams:from some of the best, I think it really helped us. And at the
Brent Williams:time, Dr. Pincus was the accounting department chair, and
Brent Williams:she told us she was preparing us to be future partners. And so I
Brent Williams:appreciate all the effort that they poured into us at that
Brent Williams:time. But I graduated and started with Ernst and Young in
Brent Williams:the Rogers, Arkansas office, which was great experience
Brent Williams:worked on, you know, some of the usual suspects here in Northwest
Brent Williams:Arkansas and great teams learned a lot. But I had an opportunity
Brent Williams:to switch to a regional firm, after about a year and a half.
Brent Williams:And for me, that was a great fit, working on smaller clients,
Brent Williams:but still really high quality clients and just getting to see
Brent Williams:maybe more variety. And so came over to the firm as an
Brent Williams:experienced staff, and then I've stayed so that was in December
Brent Williams:2007. I've been with the firm a long time. It's grown a lot. And
Brent Williams:when I joined the firm, there were 74 people, and HoganTaylor
Brent Williams:now, which through some mergers has about 350 professionals, so
Brent Williams:large regional firm, and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then
Brent Williams:Oklahoma City, Little Rock and then Fayetteville.
Brent Williams:Well, you know, I know you I know, you still serve clients,
Brent Williams:and you have the opportunity to lead the local office, what's,
Brent Williams:you know, in, in in your role? What's what's some of the things
Brent Williams:you enjoy most about working with clients?
Sarah Langham:Well, I think that my job is not boring.
Brent Williams:Yeah.
Sarah Langham:And I get to serve a wide variety of clients.
Sarah Langham:And it's really interesting to see the really different
Sarah Langham:challenges that they're facing, and to get to be a part of
Sarah Langham:brainstorming or sharing best practices with them. Just some
Sarah Langham:really motivated, really interesting individuals that I
Sarah Langham:get to work alongside with and see their businesses grow, and
Sarah Langham:see their teams grow. It's really neat to see people that
Sarah Langham:I, when I was a staff, and they were maybe lower, you know, in
Sarah Langham:the ladder, and they've grown up and in their respective
Sarah Langham:companies, it's, it's just really fun to see everyone grow
Sarah Langham:and get better together. It's, it's been a fun ride.
Brent Williams:Well, you know, Sarah, when I, when I think
Brent Williams:about our students here, our accounting students, and we have
Brent Williams:several, as you well know, we have a large number that are
Brent Williams:really following the exact same path you did so undergraduate,
Brent Williams:going into a fifth year graduate program, and then and then
Brent Williams:they'll find their way into, you know, into a firm, or they might
Brent Williams:end up on the corporate side, and amongst other things, you
Brent Williams:know, but I'm sure they're wondering, and I know, there's
Brent Williams:conversations and engagement in the classroom on this, but like
Brent Williams:your perspective, you know, so much, but when you when you
Brent Williams:think about audit, you know, there's a lot of conversation
Brent Williams:out there about what can technology automate, what can it
Brent Williams:not? How're you thinking about that? Are you all at HoganTaylor
Brent Williams:thinking about?
Sarah Langham:Yeah, so we're really lucky, we have a partner
Sarah Langham:of innovation and who's helping us, you know, stay abreast of
Sarah Langham:all the current changes, but just a couple of concrete
Sarah Langham:examples of things that have changed from the time I was a
Sarah Langham:staff, you know, in 2005 2006, to now, as a first year staff,
Sarah Langham:one of your jobs used to be to look at two different documents
Sarah Langham:and see if the numbers were the same between those two
Sarah Langham:documents. As you can imagine, after five years of college,
Sarah Langham:that might not be the most exciting thing and you might not
Sarah Langham:feel like that's the highest and best use of your brain power.
Sarah Langham:And thankfully, with technology, there's a lot of times now where
Sarah Langham:that can all be automated. And so we've sped up some of the
Sarah Langham:learning curve because you're not having to necessarily pay
Sarah Langham:your dues by looking at two pieces of paper to say that they
Sarah Langham:agree. Yeah, you get to jump past that, to start analyzing it
Sarah Langham:and say, what are the outliers? What makes sense? Let's flip
Sarah Langham:through these and and see does it does it match my
Sarah Langham:expectations. And so I think harnessing technology to help us
Sarah Langham:all level up and take out some of the routine or mundane tasks
Sarah Langham:that really didn't add value to anyone. If I was a student
Sarah Langham:coming out, I'd be really excited about that, to hear that
Sarah Langham:I'm gonna get used for my critical thinking skills, and
Sarah Langham:not just my ability to compare two numbers. So I think that's
Sarah Langham:great.
Brent Williams:So as you're bringing, you know, younger
Brent Williams:people, younger professionals into the organization, you know,
Brent Williams:how are you preparing them for that interaction, I guess, with
Brent Williams:with technology and with automation, do you feel like,
Brent Williams:like, oh, it's just natural? Or do you have to prepare them for
Sarah Langham:No, I think it's so natural. And it's and it's
Sarah Langham:that?
Sarah Langham:really exciting. That's why we love having interns, you know,
Sarah Langham:we bring new staff in every year, because they're not
Sarah Langham:afraid, they're not afraid to break it, they're not afraid to
Sarah Langham:experiment and try new things, that's, it's probably harder for
Sarah Langham:me sometimes to embrace some of those things. And I have to work
Sarah Langham:to overcome maybe that fear, and where the students coming out,
Sarah Langham:it comes just so naturally to them. And, and what's
Sarah Langham:interesting is that if you empower them, and you say, hey,
Sarah Langham:if you're doing a task, and it doesn't feel like this is the
Sarah Langham:most efficient way, you have the freedom to try it a different
Sarah Langham:way. And they they do and it's really neat sometimes to see
Sarah Langham:what they can come up with.
Brent Williams:Yeah, you know, the, you're right, like, like,
Brent Williams:getting to use what humans are best for critical thinking,
Brent Williams:communication. And getting to use that off the bat, I would
Brent Williams:assume, probably changes the longevity and career and
Brent Williams:probably maybe even affects long term trajectories as well.
Sarah Langham:Right. And, and we're so early, you know, in the
Sarah Langham:industry, they talk about it used to be in public accounting,
Sarah Langham:which is my space and it for so, so long was a pyramid, you know,
Sarah Langham:where there was lots of people at the, you know, entry level
Sarah Langham:doing those tasks, and then it gets smaller and smaller. And
Sarah Langham:there's talk now that maybe it would be more like a diamond,
Sarah Langham:you know, where there's a few people that help input
Sarah Langham:documents, and a lot of the, maybe the more routine tasks are
Sarah Langham:automated, but then it gets broader in the middle. And that
Sarah Langham:narrows again, at the top, I think we're still early in it, I
Sarah Langham:don't know how that's all gonna play out. I think that I've seen
Sarah Langham:people's careers be more enriching, I see people learning
Sarah Langham:and asking good questions, and maybe being able to go deeper,
Sarah Langham:because they get to see more, and they, we do expect a lot of
Sarah Langham:them. And because, you know, we need you off the bat, like you
Sarah Langham:said, critical thinking, I need you to tell me if it makes
Sarah Langham:sense, not just tell me if the two numbers are the same.
Brent Williams:Absolutely. Well, you know, I tend to have a
Brent Williams:bias in the direction of like, I feel like humans tend to adapt
Brent Williams:to the technology, and then, you know, tend to be able to make
Brent Williams:higher level contributions because of that, but I do know
Brent Williams:that, you know, the, the field of Accounting has been one of
Brent Williams:those right, that has been put forward as an area that could be
Brent Williams:disrupted.
Sarah Langham:Right. Yep. I think pieces of it will. And,
Sarah Langham:and I think that's okay, if we see the pipeline, you hear
Sarah Langham:about, you know, some accounting numbers are going down. So,
Sarah Langham:okay, then let's repurpose, you know, let's focus our attention
Sarah Langham:to the areas that maybe are more fulfilling and more exciting, I
Sarah Langham:can appreciate that there are certain jobs in accounting that
Sarah Langham:for students coming out now would not be particularly
Sarah Langham:attractive, you know, and because it's, it's not engaging
Sarah Langham:their sense of their highest purpose. And I appreciate that.
Sarah Langham:And so I'm excited that if we have a limited number of staff
Sarah Langham:that we can deploy them in ways that they feel like they're,
Sarah Langham:they are contributing and in helping their organizations.
Brent Williams:You know, accounting is interesting, it as
Brent Williams:a, as an element or function of business, in that, you know, I'm
Brent Williams:sure you've heard this said many of you listening have heard this
Brent Williams:said that accounting is the language of business. And so we
Brent Williams:encourage even, you know, non accounting majors, we would like
Brent Williams:them to have some accounting so that so that they can
Brent Williams:communicate and interact using that language. And I am sure you
Brent Williams:see that working with clients every single day.
Sarah Langham:I do yeah. And, and I think the clients that
Sarah Langham:have people in house that not just know their numbers, but can
Sarah Langham:interpret it can tell the story can not just live in the past,
Sarah Langham:and that's a hard thing about being an accountant, but pick up
Sarah Langham:on trends and predict what that's going to be like in the
Sarah Langham:future or the companies that are really doing exciting things,
Sarah Langham:you know, because they're not being reactive, and they're
Sarah Langham:they're really trying to be forward thinking and strategic
Sarah Langham:and, and the ones that are doing that, it's just great to see
Sarah Langham:their results and and see the power that being able to distill
Sarah Langham:that information and tell a story with that information
Sarah Langham:really elevates their whole organization. It's a super
Sarah Langham:skill, know accounting and be able to explain it to other
Sarah Langham:people. It's a super skill.
Brent Williams:I haven't heard it said that way. But now I'm a
Brent Williams:I may borrow or steal that, you know, having known you for some
Brent Williams:time, I know innovation is an area that you are particularly
Brent Williams:interested in. But, you know, you refer to micro innovation.
Brent Williams:And I just wondered if you might double click on that a little
Brent Williams:bit and kind of talk through that concept and how it applies
Brent Williams:in your world.
Sarah Langham:Yeah, that really distills down to empowerment,
Sarah Langham:you know, and to not being okay with being stuck and not being
Sarah Langham:okay with being frustrated that when we say micro, it's just
Sarah Langham:little tweaks and little changes in your approach or the way that
Sarah Langham:you go about, not just your work, but your life. And it's
Sarah Langham:been so encouraging, so exciting to me, when I see team members
Sarah Langham:embracing that, and like reach a new breakthrough, you know, or
Sarah Langham:the ripple effect of, they've been frustrated with something
Sarah Langham:and they're fed up. And so they figure out a better way and
Sarah Langham:share it with others. And then everybody, you know, saves time,
Sarah Langham:you know, as accountants, as much as we hate it the billable
Sarah Langham:hours important. And so, you know, the more efficient that we
Sarah Langham:can be, the better we can are, you know, the better results we
Sarah Langham:have, the better we can serve our clients. And so, for us
Sarah Langham:micro innovation is is just being willing to get better to
Sarah Langham:try new things and, and to not accept the status quo.
Brent Williams:Yeah. Do you all have specific ways or maybe
Brent Williams:they're your own, or maybe they're more systemic within the
Brent Williams:firm, to celebrate those micro innovations and kind of call
Brent Williams:them forward so that it encourages more?
Sarah Langham:Yeah. So as someone that shepherds it in the
Sarah Langham:firm, that's a big thing, right is to show people because it's a
Sarah Langham:squishy topic.
Brent Williams:Yeah.
Sarah Langham:And so to call out and celebrate the wins is
Sarah Langham:really important. So if we have a department meeting, we'll talk
Sarah Langham:about it in a medium like that. You were on teams all the time.
Sarah Langham:And so we'll be in a team's meeting, and someone will make a
Sarah Langham:comment. That's total micro innovation. And someone in the
Sarah Langham:chat, I'm sure we're all familiar with the chat, got the
Sarah Langham:side chat going, we'll say hashtag micro innovation, and to
Sarah Langham:just continue to keep that in our language. It's interesting.
Sarah Langham:Some people in the firm use the term get better, instead of
Sarah Langham:micro innovation. I don't care which term they use, as long as
Sarah Langham:we're all doing it. And I see it on a daily basis, which is
Sarah Langham:really, it's good when you're working on something to see it
Sarah Langham:in practice.
Sarah Langham:right,
Brent Williams:Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know,
Brent Williams:you've you've been successful inside HoganTaylor. And I know
Brent Williams:and in many ways, and so, one, maybe talk a
Brent Williams:you've recently taken on, you know, I mentioned this at the
Brent Williams:little bit about what you do in that role, but like, and I think
Brent Williams:beginning a new role of the office managing partner. But
Brent Williams:that's an interesting role, I want you to talk some about, at
Brent Williams:least outside looking in what I see interesting about it is
Brent Williams:that, you know, you're managing an office that that is made up
Brent Williams:of a set of peers,
Brent Williams:you've only been in it for, you know, for a few months or so.
Brent Williams:But what have you learned thus far?
Sarah Langham:Well, I think that maybe you've learned this
Sarah Langham:too, that you don't really know exactly what you're doing until
Sarah Langham:you're really doing it for real. So. So I've learned that Todd
Brent Williams:Yeah,
Brent Williams:Wisdom, who had the role before me did a lot of things behind
Sarah Langham:four months, and, you know, I'll report back.
Sarah Langham:the scenes that he was very quiet about, and I didn't
Sarah Langham:totally appreciate. So thank you, Todd, for doing all the
Sarah Langham:things she did behind the scenes for so many years. And but
Sarah Langham:really, a big part of it is shepherding our culture, you
Sarah Langham:know, being a point person for someone on the outside that has
Sarah Langham:questions for the firm, and then helping make some decisions
Sarah Langham:about things that are going to enhance our employee experience
Sarah Langham:or things inside our office. You talk about working with peers, I
Sarah Langham:think one of the reasons I love public accounting is because I
Sarah Langham:work with all professionals. Yeah, everyone is CPA eligible,
Sarah Langham:everyone treats each other with respect, that's the kind of
Sarah Langham:company I would want to work for. And so it's, it's fun being
Sarah Langham:in the role, because I'm working with people that I really
Sarah Langham:respect, and it's not a situation that I'm having to,
Sarah Langham:you know, be a mean person at any point in time. You know, I'm
Sarah Langham:working with people that that are motivated and want to do
Sarah Langham:great things, and I just get to help support them in those
Sarah Langham:roles. And so, so far, so good.
Brent Williams:Well, I keep talking about all these roles
Brent Williams:you have and so I want to spend the last few minutes that we
Brent Williams:have together focused on another role, but first, you know, let
Brent Williams:me kind of go back to partner you've taken on this Managing
Brent Williams:Partner role, you know, knowing you right now, I know a role at
Brent Williams:home, wife, mom, but kind of in our world in the in the College
Brent Williams:and University alum, alum alumna is a role that you play and you
Brent Williams:play it really well. And and that's part of what I wanted to
Brent Williams:talk about today. You know, so just observing all your
Brent Williams:interactions, you're very deeply engaged here hasn't been that
Brent Williams:long ago, I was walking through a building and and saw you and
Brent Williams:you were guest lecturing in a class. You're here today on the
Brent Williams:serving on the Dean's Alumni Advisory Council. So maybe talk
Brent Williams:about that role. And it's clearly a role that you've taken
Brent Williams:seriously and embraced, maybe a little bit of the why behind it
Brent Williams:in case others are thinking, how could I be engaged more?
Sarah Langham:Right. Well, I think it goes back to the
Sarah Langham:experience I had when I was here as a student. Yeah, it makes a
Sarah Langham:difference in your life, when you get an opportunity to be
Sarah Langham:exposed to the type of leaders that I was exposed to, when you
Sarah Langham:get launched off into a career, like I was launched off into
Sarah Langham:that just set me up for so many opportunities. You know, Cathy
Sarah Langham:Gates was in EY, she was the office Managing Partner of EY
Sarah Langham:Tulsa. And she was on campus and interviewed me for my first job.
Sarah Langham:She's someone who's still engaged.
Brent Williams:I actually didn't know that. But it makes
Brent Williams:sense now.
Sarah Langham:Yeah. And so, you know, she's someone that from
Sarah Langham:the time I was a student I looked up to, of course, I would
Sarah Langham:come back and do things, Cathy did it. Yeah. And she's someone
Sarah Langham:I would love to emulate. And so, you know, I had that those
Sarah Langham:really good examples. And I enjoy my days on campus. You
Sarah Langham:know, I think now I'm qualifying as like an older younger alumni
Sarah Langham:based on some some schedules I saw today. But it just gives you
Sarah Langham:energy when you're here. And it's so exciting, to see the
Sarah Langham:things that are happening at the college to see the growth of the
Sarah Langham:University of Arkansas Fayetteville overall, and to see
Sarah Langham:us moving the needle on really important metrics. So I want to
Sarah Langham:get back I enjoy being here and, and just appreciate
Sarah Langham:opportunities where I can plug in and, and feel like I'm adding
Sarah Langham:some value back to somewhere that gave me such a great start.
Brent Williams:You know, as the Dean's Alumni Advisory Council,
Brent Williams:we're talking about and spent a good bit of today talking about
Brent Williams:alumni engagement, and in ways that alumni engagement can
Brent Williams:really move the needle for the Walton College, as you
Brent Williams:mentioned, growth. Certainly a big part of our story as of the
Brent Williams:last several years, about 9000 students we'll, we'll get to 10,
Brent Williams:you know, at some point in the near future. And you know, and
Brent Williams:for us, we think about, we think about experience in the
Brent Williams:classroom, obviously, is a core critical part of, of what we
Brent Williams:offer, but it's all these other experiences around it, like
Brent Williams:internships and, you know, sitting in on a panel that you
Brent Williams:might present on. So how do you kind of as someone that has been
Brent Williams:engaged, how have you found many different opportunities to
Brent Williams:provide those experiences.
Sarah Langham:Right. Well, I think you know, anyone in a
Sarah Langham:company with influence to be able to hire interns, like I
Sarah Langham:would say, interns have been just a, for our firm, a great
Sarah Langham:talent pipeline. And just like when you're on campus, campus,
Sarah Langham:you get different energy and enjoy being around the students.
Sarah Langham:You know, having those folks embedded in your teams is
Sarah Langham:fantastic. And so I think anytime you can capitalize on
Sarah Langham:that opportunity, that would be fantastic. You know, I like
Sarah Langham:being on campus, because I like to keep in touch with some of my
Sarah Langham:professors. And anytime there's an opportunity that works with
Sarah Langham:my schedule, I want to be here because not only am I learning
Sarah Langham:from the students, you guys are always doing new cool things, I
Sarah Langham:get to learn new things that are happening and, and so I think it
Sarah Langham:enhances me professionally, just as much as I might be able to
Sarah Langham:give back.
Brent Williams:Yeah, you know, when you you've you've had
Brent Williams:several interns in your office, any particular points of wisdom
Brent Williams:that you would give to our listeners about how to two
Brent Williams:things, get the most, right, because you want to get the most
Brent Williams:out of those that resource, but also provide the best experience
Brent Williams:any tips?
Sarah Langham:Yeah, I think for our firm, it's been a balance
Sarah Langham:over the years. And I think every everyone takes a different
Sarah Langham:approach. Our goal is for it to be a real experience where
Sarah Langham:they're embedded in teams and they're doing what the real work
Sarah Langham:would be. You know that they have some special days they get
Sarah Langham:to do some special fun things but it's it's more doing the
Sarah Langham:real work versus a super fun curated experience. So sorry
Sarah Langham:interns where you do real work for us. But I think that that's
Sarah Langham:helpful. I think that that equips them and in any time I
Sarah Langham:encourage our interns to do multiple internships, see what
Sarah Langham:it's really like in different companies and what what you like
Sarah Langham:and the only way to know that is to do the real work. So we just
Sarah Langham:tried to get them plugged in. And
Brent Williams:Well, and we want them, you know, to the, to
Brent Williams:that point of the internships providing real work like, you
Brent Williams:know, for, for us from like a pedagogical learning standpoint,
Brent Williams:you know, I talked about this all the time, I'm someone who I
Brent Williams:learn in context, but outside of context, it can be a little hard
Brent Williams:for me to learn. And so when I, when I learn and apply, you
Brent Williams:know, and then what I saw in the application I bring back to the
Brent Williams:classroom or back to the book I'm reading and studying, it's
Brent Williams:that kind of back and forth between learning and
Brent Williams:application. And we do that as professionals for the rest of
Brent Williams:our lives. So I think it is actually really important that
Brent Williams:the experience be real, because I think the learning will be
Brent Williams:more real.
Sarah Langham:I agree. For example, we had an intern sit in
Sarah Langham:a planning meeting the other day. And in accounting, you
Sarah Langham:know, understanding what the risk assessment process is, you
Sarah Langham:can read about it in a book all day long, but for that student
Sarah Langham:to get to sit and listen to us debate back and forth and decide
Sarah Langham:how are we going to test different balances? What's the
Sarah Langham:real risk? You know, he'll be able to apply that when he is in
Sarah Langham:his auditing class, I think that it will set him apart and give
Sarah Langham:him a head start to understand the concepts like you said, when
Sarah Langham:you when you have the context, and it's not just an abstract
Sarah Langham:thing on a page.
Brent Williams:Yeah. And internships derisk, the hiring
Brent Williams:process for the employer?
Sarah Langham:Certainly, yeah, we've had some fantastic interns
Sarah Langham:convert over the years. I've had some fantastic interns that went
Sarah Langham:other places. And so you're welcome to whatever company they
Sarah Langham:ended up at. And, but yeah, it's been it's been great for us.
Sarah Langham:And, and it's something we'll continue so.
Brent Williams:Yeah, well, you know, when you will kind of
Brent Williams:think about our students, you know, and I always, every time I
Brent Williams:walk through, you know, these buildings, you know, I'm
Brent Williams:reminded that we have so many young people that are about to
Brent Williams:enter their professional life, and can make a difference in
Brent Williams:business and in their communities for a long time to
Brent Williams:come. And so, you know, as you look back over your career thus
Brent Williams:far, what is one piece of advice, that from what you've
Brent Williams:learned, that you would give a student from the Walton College?
Sarah Langham:I would say that there are so many opportunities
Sarah Langham:that are here, that you need to just tackle as much as you can
Sarah Langham:tackle. And, and I think the flip side of that is, as a
Sarah Langham:college student, you're at a really special time of your
Sarah Langham:life. And I think I see from students coming out now that
Sarah Langham:they put a lot of pressure on themselves. And so I think the
Sarah Langham:balance is take advantage of the opportunities and do a lot of
Sarah Langham:things. But don't feel like you have to do every single thing or
Sarah Langham:that you're comparing yourself to other people, like enjoy the
Sarah Langham:experience for what it is because this is a special time
Sarah Langham:that you don't get to go back and, and redo. So I don't know
Sarah Langham:how to hold that tension. But I think that that, that would be
Sarah Langham:my advice to them is do what you can but then don't fret over not
Sarah Langham:doing everything.
Brent Williams:Yeah, that's right. You know, we careers in
Brent Williams:life are pretty nonlinear. You know, and but I couldn't agree
Brent Williams:more. I think when you think about this Walton College
Brent Williams:experience, it is exactly that. It is an experience, and there's
Brent Williams:so much that a student can take advantage of. And that was
Brent Williams:usually one of my first piece of advice to incoming freshmen as
Brent Williams:well, as a freshman get involved in something. And if that's not
Brent Williams:the thing, find the next one. And, you know, if you do enough
Brent Williams:of that, by the time you leave here, you've done some
Brent Williams:internships, you know, you really are on the path, like
Brent Williams:hopefully doing something that gives you lots of joy.
Sarah Langham:I agree.
Brent Williams:Well, Sarah, thanks for spending a few
Brent Williams:minutes with me today and thank you for the way that you give
Brent Williams:back. Alumni Engagement is so important to the college it
Brent Williams:helps us in many ways, including internships in placement and,
Brent Williams:and many, many other but you're such a prime example of that. So
Brent Williams:thank you.
Sarah Langham:Thank you. Appreciate it.
Brent Williams:On behalf of the Walton College thank you for
Brent Williams:joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected
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