We were very fortunate to get on the calendar of the current TSCPA Chairperson – Kathy Kapka – for this episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast.
Finding Your Calling at 50
This episode is about much, much more than just this topic, but one of the facts I found interesting about Kathy’s journey was that like many people, she tried out several career paths – tax, audit, governmental related accounting, etc – before finding what was truly the best fit for her – teaching future leaders in our profession. It was while developing the Internal Audit function at the UT Tyler campus that the Dean asked her to teach a course. She was resistant at first – she was an auditor, not a teacher – but she decided to give it a shot. It wasn’t long until she realized that the day she looked forward to the most each week was the day that she taught that one course on campus. It was at this point – at about 50 years old – that she found her true calling.
TSCPA
Her involvement with TSCPA started purely as an effort to educate herself further on GASB. As she got more involved at the chapter though, she was eventually asked to serve in one of the appointed roles at the Executive Board level which ultimately led to being nominated several times for the TSCPA Chair position.
Important Mentors
Kathy credits several people with helping her along in her journey. Among those mentioned are Barbara Bass, Fred Timmons, and Jeff Gregg. Barbara was the individual that originally encouraged Kathy to become a CPA in the first place, and has since remained a great friend. Fred & Jeff are both dedicated TSCPA volunteers as well as colleagues in the profession and helped Kathy as she grew in her involvement with the CPA association.
Kathy is an extremely personable and transparent individual. If you would like to contact her for further information, she can be reached at kkapka@uttyler.edu.
I know you will thoroughly enjoy this interview. There’s more to come!
Mark Goldman CPA
President – Where Accountants Go
www.WhereAccountantsGo.com
PS: If you would like to find out more about UT Tyler’s online programs, please visit the online portal at http://online.uttyler.edu/. Have a great week!
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