Lindsay Young ‘03 first enrolled at Messiah College as an early childhood education major. She had always thought that she would stay within the field of education for the rest of her life. However, she quickly learned that teaching was not for her and recalled her joy in her accounting classes. That was when Young switched to be an accounting major, a decision which she has never regretted. Young is currently a manager at McKonly & Asbury, LLP, a regional certified public accounting and consulting firm. Her responsibilities involve providing attest, tax and consulting services with an emphasis on small business, including family-owned business. She leads the firm’s Entrepreneurial Services Group (ESG), which provides a variety of back office accounting services. Some of the services this group assists with are payable and receivable accounts, personal bill pay, financial statement preparation and assistance with various accounting software. Additionally, her ESG group provides other tax compliance and consulting, human resource outsourcing and CFO/COO services. To be a successful accountant, Young says one needs to be a go-getter, have the ability to work independently and be a good problem solver. She has learned over the years to “go with the flow” and meets tasks as they come, instead of getting stressed out or worrying in advance. “I certainly think being proactive has allowed for great conversations with clients. It lets them know I am thinking of them and have their best interests in mind,” said Young. “Thankfully, I just love what I do! My job is ever changing and I never know what will be the current day’s tasks, which is what I find most exciting.” Young said that her time at Messiah was both “destined-to-be” and extremely helpful for her career. She grew up running around on Messiah’s campus and attending the Grantham Church. Plus, she worked in the Lottie Nelson Dining as a teenager and had family and friends who worked on campus; therefore, attending Messiah was a natural progression for her. “Certainly my professors, advisors and my church family had a profound effect on me as a student, always encouraging me to do my best,” said Young. “After graduation, I was blessed to accept an offer from a firm that was built on Christian values and included many Messiah College alumni. Being supporting by both a firm and coworkers of faith has been helpful and certainly minimizes the pressures associated with the unethical accounting.” Her experience at Messiah has allowed Young to be assertive and unafraid of being challenged with something that “just didn’t seem right”—she always feels comfortable approaching a senior member of her team should there is an issue. She doesn’t feel hesitant to talk with them to resolve issues in an ethically and timely manner. “In recent years I have become more comfortable sharing my faith with clients,” said Young. “This has been one of more rewarding and refreshing parts of my job and certainly has helped me to grow personally and hold me accountable.” Young loves what she is doing, the team who she works with and thoroughly enjoys her current client base. If she could offer a piece of encouragement to students, she would want to tell them to go after their dreams wholeheartedly and make sure that they enjoy what they are doing. “When you enjoy what you are doing, I think that enjoyment is what separates a career from a job,” said Young. -My Nguyen ‘17