J Donald Warren Jr
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY USA
"Always do the right thing even though it may not be the popular thing. In other words, stick to your principles."
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J Donald's work combines: Education, Business, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
South Park High School (Beaumont, TX)
Bachelor's Degree
Accounting
Lamar University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
The George Washington University
Doctorate
Accounting
Texas A&M University
Certification
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Texas State Board of Accountancy
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Director, MS/PAccy & Professor of Accounting:
Bachelor's Degree: Accounting
Graduate Degree: Business Administration and Management, General
Doctorate: Accounting
Certification: Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Managing time between work and school. Given my parents were unable to pay for my college, I held several jobs during my college years. As a result, I was required to manage my time.
2.
Upon entering public accounting at 29 and from the government, I had to continually prove myself to my superiors.
3.
Accepting a position in the National Office of a major accounting firm required additional effort to ensure the answers provided to practice met the standards of the profession.
4.
Entering a PhD program at 60 required extra effort since I had completed my undergraduate and graduate education 31 years prior to entering the program.
5.
As the profession changed and my responsibilities changed, I had to re-invent myself several times over my career.
6.
During my time in public accounting and education, my strong suit was to be a problem solver. In other words, take on difficult tasks and be solution-oriented, not problem oriented.
7.
As a result of my work in a retail environment during my high school and college years, I developed excellent marketing and interpersonal skills.
8.
Don't get caught up in company gossip and always do the right thing even though it may not be the popular thing. In other words, stick to your principles.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
I would never pass the CPA exam.
How I responded:
Do not be discouraged. Recognize if you want to achieve a goal, you must be persistent in pursuing it. Take a CPA review course and discipline yourself by managing your time between personal, work, and study time. Never, never give up and believe in yourself. You have the potential and all you need to achieve a goal is to recognize you can DO IT.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Being the first member of my family to attend college, it required (1) a commitment to succeed; (2) time-management between studies, work, and extra-curricula activities; and (3) focus on the ultimate goal: a college degree.