At 18, after moving to the U.S. from Honduras, Viviana Barba got a job managing a small orthodontic clinic in California. “I did bookkeeping, tracked expenses, and did administrative work like payroll, interviews, and schedule management,” she says. “I had lots of opportunities to learn and develop a love of business.”

Her interest led her to earn an undergraduate degree in accounting at Brigham Young University. When she began looking for a graduate program to prepare her for the CPA exam and help her launch a career, Vanderbilt stood out for 2 reasons. “My husband went to Vanderbilt as an undergraduate and loved his experience here,” she says. “And Vanderbilt had something very important to me—a more intimate classroom setting.”

With smaller classes, Viviana found that her Vanderbilt professors had time to meet with students outside class. “They took the time to talk through questions and examples, and there was more time to explore things about accounting careers that weren’t on the syllabus,” she says.

Before entering the Vanderbilt Master of Accountancy program, Viviana interned with a financial consulting and accounting firm with offices in Nashville and San Francisco. She completed another internship with Deloitte in the spring of 2024. “I gained hands-on experience in auditing processes and used advanced auditing tools,” she says. “My internships allowed me to hone my analytical, communications, and leadership skills in a dynamic environment.” 

She advises students to seek out Vanderbilt's career and leadership development programs. “Vanderbilt allows you to dive into accounting and prepare for the CPA exam and offers training for interviews and personal development, courses on communications, mentoring for leadership skills, and so much more,” she says. “You can work hard on your classwork and still take advantage of all the training, seminars, and extracurricular activities Vanderbilt provides.”