Member Spotlight: Ciera Johnson

Who or what inspired you to get where you are today?
More often than not, I would attribute my academic motivation to some of the fantastic teachers I had growing up, who saw immense potential in me even when I didn't always see it myself. They fostered my love for numbers, and reading, but mostly for learning in general. They showed me what it looks like to fully commit to your interests and pursuits, to the best of your ability, and that is something that has truly stuck with me. This includes my wonderful professors in the accounting program at Oregon State University, who saw potential in me, even when I was new to the major.

How will you define success as a CPA?
I would say that success as a CPA is a hard concept to grasp at this stage in my career, but genuinely, I want to help people, and help businesses. As long as I am doing that, I can feel like I am doing something right as a CPA and as a human being. My biggest personal success as a CPA would be nailing down a long-term career goal. One of the drawbacks of being a lover of learning, and a lifelong learner, is that there are so many paths that I am interested in at the moment.

Tell us how you achieved one of your most recent professional goals.
One of my recent professional goals was completing internships at both a large and a local firm. I completed this during my junior year of college, in 2024 with a winter tax internship, and a summer tax internship. This was a goal of mine, not only to see where I may want to work after graduation, but because I wanted to get as many perspectives as I could on the profession. I don't know exactly how yet, but I believe that there will be important pieces of these experiences that can assist me in the future, no matter where I end up.

What are you most passionate about?
One of my goals in becoming a CPA is to simply be able to help others with my knowledge. Assisting others is something I am incredibly passionate about, and I knew that I wanted to be able to use my love of working with numbers to be able to help others when choosing my major and my career. I also am passionate about consistent learning. I never want to stop learning and take it upon myself to read and do activities that stimulate my brain every day.

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