Takoma Academy Prepared Alumna for Life of Service, Career

Jalisa Cox mentors students at the 2014 Accounting Careers Leadership Institute.

Jalisa Cox, now a successful accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says her experience at Takoma Academy (TA) helped prepare her for her career and service to the community.

Cox, a member of Potomac Conference’s Restoration Praise Center in Lanham, Md., is giving back to high school students in a program similar to one that helped her six years ago.

Cox recently returned to her alma mater, Bryant University, located in Smithfield, R.I., to mentor high school juniors at PwC and the university’s 2014 Accounting Careers Leadership Institute.

The program immerses Latino/a and African-American students in an exciting educational environment, where they learn about accounting and the role that accountants play in society.

“Six years ago, a similar program offered by Bryant University helped me to appreciate what it means to be an accountant in the corporate world, and it influenced my decision to choose accounting as my. I hope this program will do the same for these rising high school seniors,” says Cox.

Cox explains that her experience at TA helped prepare her for her college and career experiences.

“I was able to develop critical thinking and time management skills. I was given challenging coursework and participated in beneficial classroom debates and discussions,” she adds. “Participating in volunteer work at TA was a requirement, and it has helped mold my attitude towards giving back to my community. Most importantly, I was able to build a firm spiritual foundation, and this foundation has followed me throughout my college and career experiences."