As the Interim President at the 91社区, Steve Bridges 鈥�89 M鈥�95 is no stranger to public speaking engagements. But there was something special about the opportunity to speak to a group of students in the same shoes he once was as a business student. 听
He can remember the important decisions he had to make as a college student. Bridges recalls that from the ages of 18 to 23, he made some of the most important decisions of his life鈥攆rom getting married to deciding what career path he should take. Bridges presented Two Chapters for Life in the Romain College of Business on January 30 in front of a full house of students, faculty and administrators as part of the Lessons Beyond the Classroom Speaker Series. He鈥檚 hopeful the message from his presentation can bring some relief to students who may be feeling similar stress to what he once had.听
听The presentation was sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi鈥檚 Lambda Mu chapter and the Accounting and Professional Services Club, an Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) student chapter.听
鈥淭ruly it鈥檚 about me providing some information to those students who are sitting in the seats that I once sat in and hopefully providing them some comfort about where they are and the upcoming decisions they need to make,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that my journey can help them down the road.鈥澨�听
The title of his presentation came from an advanced accounting class he took as a student. In the class, he was struck by two specific chapters of the textbook that talked about fund accounting. These two chapters helped him consider a career path which he may not have considered before.听
鈥淚 was like any student in accounting,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淚 remember thinking 鈥楧o I want to go into public accounting? Or manufacturing accounting?鈥�. But fund accounting spoke to me. It really resonated with me, and it steered me to look for something in the not-for-profit world.鈥�听
In his presentation, Bridges talked about life as a student pursuing both a bachelor鈥檚 degree in accounting and a master鈥檚 degree in business administration. He spent much of the discussion talking about his journey into fund accounting, how he ended up working in higher education and all the differences between public accounting and non-profit accounting. 听
As the University鈥檚 longtime Vice President for Finance and Administration as well as Chief Business, Fiscal Officer and many other roles across his tenure, Bridges discussed how many different types of accounting鈥�such as investment, retail and rental property鈥�all play a part into being an accountant in higher education. He explained to students, if you want to be involved with different types of accounting, then higher education could be a possible career path.听
鈥淲e do all sorts of accounting here,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淲hen it comes to the University itself, there鈥檚 a lot of complexities and different accounting opportunities that happen.鈥�听
He also went on to discuss how his current role as Interim President is what he referred to as Chapter Three. Chapter Four of his life, he said, is still to be determined.听
If there鈥檚 one primary lesson Bridges hopes people take away from his presentation, it鈥檚 to not limit yourself. He believes you should always be willing to take chances and not pigeonhole yourself to one certain area, especially when deciding on a career field.听
It鈥檚 advice that鈥檚 led him to where he is today.听
鈥淭here鈥檚 not just one path,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淚 hope they can take away to always be open to opportunities and challenges. Being willing to try things and do new challenges that were presented to me have really gotten me to where I'm at today.鈥�听
Bridges began as 91社区鈥檚 Interim President in July 2024. He is a longtime 91社区 employee, two-time 91社区 alumnus and is the first alum to serve in this leadership position.听