Building a Foundation in Accounting Services

“I have new classmates, including adult classmates. As a high schooler, I've never had that before, so it feels like an introduction to college almost. It’s very laid back and relaxed, and we're all very respectful to each other.”

For Rachel Bernardy, attending Francis Tuttle runs in the family, and so do her career goals. Her three older brothers all came to the technology center, with two going through the Engineering Academy and one completing the Computer Science Academy. While she followed in their footsteps, she forged her own path in the Accounting Services program. 

At Francis Tuttle, Rachel has learned foundational accounting skills that will be helpful for her future, especially since she is interested in potentially starting a business one day.

Her parents own an estate business in Crescent. Through that, she has learned about different kinds of furniture and how to repurpose and clean them as well as how to sell items. She’d like to take that experience and maybe open a furniture repurposing business. 

“You can be very independent in business,” Rachel said. “You can start your own company. You can go and work for someone. You can be a contractor. There are so many different avenues for whatever I decide in life.”

Rachel was introduced to accounting by one of her Crescent High School teachers, who used to be an accountant. She likes how organized it is and enjoys math, especially trigonometry and algebra. In addition to being good with numbers, she also loves English, creative writing, and art, especially multimedia art. 

As a Francis Tuttle student, Rachel completed the Accounting Clerk major and has since been learning QuickBooks and payroll. She is a Business Professionals of America (BPA) participant, competing at nationals last year and becoming a state finalist in both of her events this year.

“I kind of viewed accounting as a stepping stone for business,” Rachel shared. “I learned a lot of financial logistics, including how expenses and taxes work, calculator, and 10-key. I learned Word and Excel. I know how to credit and debit accounts. If I was wanting to take out a compound interest loan, I know what to look for. Accounting is very practical and helps me to understand how things work in the world.” 

Next year, Rachel is attending East Central University (ECU) in Ada, Oklahoma, to study either general business or accounting. She is also joining the university’s honors program. Since her freshman year, Rachel has been Crescent’s school mascot, and she is excited that ECU has the same mascot – a Tiger.