Tara Reigel ’19

Tara Reigel in the Wesleyan Arbboretum

Driven by her love of knowledge

Tara Reigel ’19 says she is able to keep up with the demands of her triple major because she is driven by her love of knowledge and possesses great time management skills. Tara knew upon entering Wesleyan that she wanted to major in accounting. During her sophomore year, she declared two more majors - business administration and environmental studies. “I took an environmental science class and found that I loved it, so I decided to look into jobs that involve accounting and environmental protection.” 

While at Wesleyan she held an internship with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program helping elderly people and low-income families in the Macon community complete their income taxes. She also completed a summer-long accounting internship at Robins Air Force Base and secured a job in their cost accounting department after graduating. “I love accounting because I love organizing information and working with numbers. It’s like solving a puzzle and my brain works in a way that makes the process really enjoyable.”

Tara and two other Wesleyan accounting students competed against graduate and undergraduate teams across the state in the Atlanta Case Study Competition of the Georgia Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors Internal Audit Competition. They placed in the top 10 both years. 

Her long-term goal is to become a CPA in the field of environmental accounting. Environmental accountants work with companies on costs associated with sustainability and their compliance with governmental regulations. “Dr. Ferrari (professor of biology) drew my attention to certain environmental issues and that’s what pushed me to research how I could combine accounting and environmental protection. Although I focus mostly on the social implications of environmental studies, such as environmental economics and politics, I love being outside and learning about the world I want to help protect. Summer Leadership Institute 2018 took me to Yellowstone National Park and I was enthralled with the beauty of that natural environment.” 

Tara earned a four-year Dean’s Scholarship to Wesleyan and was the recipient of the STUNT scholarship this past year. She also worked on campus as a gallery assistant, a ceramics technician, and served as an Academic Resource Center tutor. At Honors Day in April, Tara was recognized as the graduating accounting major with the highest overall grade point average. She has two sisters who also attend Wesleyan – Brooke, Class of 2021 and Barbara, Class of 2022. 

This article was featured in the WESmag Spring 2019 issue.

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