Success after Pacific - Keira Pollard

Internship leads to job with Big Four firm

Even before Keira Pollard graduated in 2020, she had already a position as an audit associate at KPMG, one of the “big four” accounting companies in the United States. Pollard was a student in the blended Bachelor of Science in Accounting/Master Accounting blended program at Pacific and had the opportunity to intern with KPMG through a university partnered program. Following her internship, Pollard was offered a permanent position as an audit associate.

“I am so glad I had the opportunity to have signed a job offer while in school,” Pollard said. “I am a first-generation college student, so beginning my career as soon as possible was so important to me, and the University of the Pacific led me to the perfect start of my career. I am forever thankful.”

Pacific’s Eberhardt School of Business has spent years building relationships with the country’s largest professional services companies. Pollard learned about the KPMG internship from the school’s career adviser, Margaret Roberts, and was encouraged to apply.

“Internships are a pipeline to recruit top talent for most firms and allow a student to get first-hand experience with the work they are preparing for academically,” said Roberts.

At Eberhardt, and through her internship program, Pollard networked with many KPMG professionals in industries she was interested in. She also

“I also was able to complete training as well as observe a tie-out and walk-through. Thus, the internship solidified my decision with KPMG,” said Pollard. “The best part of the blended program was that I took all of the courses needed for the CPA licensure. In addition, I was able to begin taking the graduate courses while still completing some of the undergrad courses. This process was invaluable to me.”

“The CPA license is in high demand within the accounting field,” said Margaret Roberts. “Earning the bachelor and master degrees concurrently at Pacific gives our students access to financial aid that is available through their entire program.”

Eberhardt’s graduating class of 2020 had nearly 75% of graduates accepting a job offer in the public accounting sector (CPA path). The balance of graduates take jobs in the private sector and government.

Pollard was a transfer student from San Joaquin Delta College and a CIP scholarship recipient.

“As a transfer student from San Joaquin Delta College, I took mostly all classes online. Because of this, I found it imperative to soak up everything the University has to offer,” Pollard said. “I spent a lot of time simply enjoying the campus, going to events, taking a leadership role in a student organization, holding student jobs, and learning from the amazing Professors at UOP.”

Pollard said that the Community Involvement Program (CIP), a comprehensive need-based scholarship and retention program for first-generation college students, solidified her decision to attend the University of the Pacific. In addition, Pollard was surprised at how easy the application process for admission and the CIP program was. She also appreciated how helpful the transfer counselors were with advising on which classes would be the most beneficial to take.

Pollard was grateful for her professors and Eberhardt staff that made her program worthwhile.

“I met so many professors that made an impact in my life at Eberhardt,” she said. “Every one of the professors I encountered taught me something valuable and different. All of the professors were with me from beginning to end and helped me improve immensely.”