In 2018, Sosuo Anigboro ’24 moved from Nigeria to Indiana, where she lived with a family friend until her parents joined a year later. Despite the fact that as a 15-year-old she had already satisfied all of the high school graduation requirements in her home country, she was still required to enroll in tenth grade in the United States.
“I felt like I was behind in life,” Sosuo reflects. “My friends back home were moving on to higher levels of academics and I was repeating things. But looking back, I can see that I was exactly where I needed to be.”
Rather than suffer through the three additional years of education, she embraced the opportunity to fully invest in her academic journey. That mindset proved to be a huge asset. Sosuo took eight advanced placement classes and received high enough results on the tests to enter college with 35 college credits.
Due to her stellar academic record, she was accepted to every college to which she applied. However, her immigration status meant that she was not eligible for financial aid through federal or state loans or grants. Fortunately, the generous scholarship offer at Olivet Nazarene University covered the gaps and made it possible for her to enroll.
Sosuo embraced college life at Olivet with as much intention to succeed as she had in high school. In addition to tackling an ambitious double-major of accounting and finance, she volunteered as a JumpStart student mentor, performed in seven shows with ONU Theatre, worked on the events team for the Office of Student Development, served as the finance manager for Student Life, sang in Proclamation Gospel Choir, tutored students in the accounting department, gave tours to prospective students and their families as an admissions ambassador, and volunteered to prepare tax returns as part of the nationwide Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Again, her hard work both in and out of the classroom yielded great returns.
“Because of all of the interactions I had with my professors at Olivet — and the joy they had while practicing accounting — I saw that the career path was more than just numbers,” Sosuo says. “Then, when I prepared tax returns for qualifying individuals through VITA, I saw the relief on people’s faces as we were able to help them with what can be a confusing process. I realized that accounting can be so fulfilling and tried to view the work through a lens of service.”
Impressively, Sosuo graduated from Olivet summa cum laude — in just three years — and was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate in Accounting. A bachelor’s degree in accounting requires students to earn a higher number of credit hours than other bachelor degree programs, so as to be prepared to sit for the Certified Public Accounting exam. In addition to carrying a very full course load to reach the requisite 150 credit hours, accounting students must also complete an accounting internship during their studies.
“You should be numbers-smart as an accountant, but as I was applying for internships and jobs, I realized that companies were more interested in someone who was relational and teachable,” Sosuo says. “Accounting is about seeing the people behind the worksheets. I needed a foundation in accounting principles to be considered for a role, but ultimately, I was going to have to learn the job day-by-day. I think that’s true of any job. College doesn’t necessarily teach you how to do a position, but about how to work with others and build on a foundation of knowledge.”
In true Sosuo fashion, she excelled at her summer internship at one of the big-four accounting firms, Ernst & Young (EY). The experience opened the door for a full-time job as a staff auditor after she graduated from Olivet. EY is a multinational company, with more than 700 office locations around the world. Although Sosuo enjoyed her time at the Indianapolis office during her internship, she chose to begin her career by following her dream of moving to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Her first tax season at the EY office in Tysons, Virginia, was challenging, but by building relationships with a collegial group of coworkers, she enjoyed the process.
“As much as my job is about the numbers, it’s also about interactions with clients and the people on my team,” Sosuo reflects. “My first busy season was tough, but the team made it so easy to be there in the wee hours of the morning. When you have breakfast, lunch and dinner together, it’s hard not to be friends.”
EY attracts talented employees from all over the world, and every year, the company hosts an international day for employees to share facets of their home cultures. Despite being one of the youngest employees at the firm, Sosuo took the lead on organizing food and décor for the table representing Nigeria — organically forming connections with other colleagues and company leadership and proudly developing a stronger sense of identity in a new place.
This is not the first time Sosuo has had to figure out how to create a home away from home. At Olivet, she embraced opportunities to invest in relationships and she has continued to pour the same amount of intention into establishing a community on the East Coast. She volunteers at a church thrift store, frequently connects with other young professionals via social media-initiated hangouts, and has taken the time to find a local church to attend. In addition to close friends — both new and old — who have helped Sosuo acclimate to her newest adventure, the support of her parents has been invaluable.
Reflecting on her academic preparation and career journey thus far, Sosuo can see that there was a balanced purpose to each opportunity she took advantage of — even when things felt hard or uncertain at the time.
“Don’t get stuck on what the future might look like,” she encourages to college students who may be facing similar unknowns. “Give it your all so that you can look back and say, ‘I put my best foot forward.’ Find extracurricular activities to do; they don’t even have to be big, but those soft skills can really set you apart in your career. Ultimately, just be intentional in all that you do.”
For more information on the McGraw School of Business and other areas of academic study, visit Olivet.edu/Academics.
