Student Selected for National Leadership Conference

Meredith student Taylor Elias, ’25, was recently selected to attend a national leadership conference hosted by Dean Dorton, one of the largest accounting and financial advisory firms in the Southeast.

Dean Dorton’s IGNITE Leadership Conference is a three-day program for students wanting to learn more about career opportunities in various fields of finance. Participants have the opportunity to gain an understanding of working at a business advisory professional service firm, hone their leadership skills through development and networking activities, and learn exam tips for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam and other exams they may be interested in.

“This opportunity is a significant achievement as they receive hundreds of applications from all across the nation and only accept 25,” said Assistant Professor of Accounting Brian Routh, who encouraged Elias to apply. “She is a great representation of the high-quality students we have in the Meredith College School of Business.”

According to Routh, Elias, a business administration major with an accounting concentration, is an exceptional student who works hard to fully understand the concepts she is learning.

“She doesn’t rely on memorization but instead wants to follow the process, know how things work together, the flow of concepts, and actually learn and retain the knowledge presented,” he said. “We are proud to have her as one of our accounting students.”

Elias said she applied to attend Ignite because of the opportunities the program provides.

“I am very interested in accounting and this conference is meant to quite literally ‘ignite’ students to learn about different routes available in the fields of accounting, finance, and economics,” said Elias. “I am also quite excited about the trip to Kentucky!”

She said the conference will help her discern which type of accounting she’s most interested in.

“Attending Ignite will give me a better understanding of the differences between a CMA and a CPA. This will allow me to learn which one I want to pursue,” she said. “I am so excited to represent Meredith at this national conference.”