Daphnia Hill, MBA ’06
Daphnia Hill is no ordinary accountant. She’s a Dominican University-trained accountant who, although she works for one of the nation’s “Big 5” accounting firms, sees her profession as a way to serve humanity. “I wouldn’t trade my Dominican experience for anything,” Daphnia explained. “It was the most influential two years of my life because of what I learned about myself and the worth of my degree.”
While studying for her MBA in accounting under the mentorship of accounting professor Steve Harrington, Daphnia volunteered for the Chicago Tax Assistance Program. Program volunteers prepare tax returns for Chicago’s underprivileged; Harrington asks his students to give up two Saturdays for this important community service. “Daphnia gave up every Saturday for the duration of the program,” Harrington said. “She became the de facto site leader, coordinating clients, reviewing returns, ordering supplies. She distinguished herself by being so devoted.”
Daphnia didn’t even mention her volunteer work when interviewed. Instead, she raved about the quality of the Dominican University School of Business and how grateful she is for the challenging curriculum and outstanding professors who inspired her. “The School of Business doesn’t need to be modest any more. Dominican’s program is the best in Chicago by far.”
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“We all feel very strongly about what we do at Dominican,” explained Steve Harrington, associate professor of accounting. Once a part-time adjunct, he gave up his corporate career and signed on full time when he realized the people, the mission and the program at Dominican were of such value. “We as faculty members know how good our students are, and we want them to set their sights higher because they’re so capable. The reputation of the School of Business has also been getting higher and higher; attaching the Brennan name to the School of Business punctuates and adds cachet to what we do.”