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Lauren Foster

Assistant Controller
Wayne County Airport Authority
Canton, MI

 

In college, Lauren Foster was going to be a nurse. Definitely a nurse.

No, wait: a criminal justice major. That’s the call. Federal law enforcement.

Wait, how about an accountant? Well, that wasn’t the original plan. But after learning that to be a federal law enforcement agent (think FBI), a professional degree in law or accounting would help, she followed the accounting path. And then a funny thing happened: she learned to love accounting, and dropped the criminal justice major. The more she learned, the more she enjoyed it. The rest is history.

Today Lauren is the Assistant Controller of Michigan’s Wayne County Airport Authority. That puts her at the center of a lot of hot-button projects, from financing big new construction projects to managing massive technology projects and a lot more. Lauren credits her training as a CPA for helping her get a leg up. “My CPA certification has given me the ability to step out of entry-level positions and play a direct role in managing the organization,” she says.

In fact, Lauren feels that being a CPA has given her so much that she works to give back by becoming actively involved in professional organizations for CPAs and accountants. She extends her network through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. “Just shoot me a message some time!” she says.

For someone who started off thinking she would be a nurse, Lauren’s career path as a CPA has paid off in ways she never imagined. “Being a CPA helped me do a lot more with my career – I love that it provides so much flexibility and self-direction,” she says. “I get to manage my own workload and priorities, and it gives me a lot of options for the future.”

Just goes to show that a good landing is sometimes more important than a smooth takeoff.

Got questions of your own? Ask a CPA.