UW-Parkside student earns prestigious scholarship
For Edyta Odorowska, the walk to the stage at Brookfield's Westmoor Country Club to be recognized by the Financial Executives International (FEI)-Milwaukee Chapter was rather short--100 feet or so. The real journey was getting to this point in her life.
Odorowska, 33, is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside majoring in business management with concentrations in both finance and accounting. She was honored by the FEI-Milwaukee Chapter with the 2009 Roger Buchholz Memorial CPA Candidate Scholarship and the organization's Outstanding Student Award.
"Ms. Odorowska beat out a very talented group of applicants for the Roger Buchholz Memorial CPA Scholarship," said John Kita, senior vice president corporate finance and controller with A.O. Smith Corp., and a member of the FEI-Milwaukee Chapter Scholarship Review Board. "What was very impressive was the fact she works full time while achieving outstanding academic performance."
Earning the scholarship is an accomplishment in itself. Earning the scholarship and the award is a significant achievement given the competitive nature of the selection process. Along with UW-Parkside, there are seven sponsored institutions in the FEI-Milwaukee Chapter including Marquette University, Mount Mary College, Carroll University, and UW campuses in Milwaukee, Whitewater, and Oshkosh. Nearly a thousand students are pursuing accounting and finance degrees at these schools. Standing out as the top student in that group is a tribute to Odorowska's talent and dedication.
"Edyta is not only an amazing student, her life story--a demonstration of commitment--is truly remarkable," said Dr. Fred Ebeid, dean of the School of Business and Technology at UW-Parkside.
Originally from Krasnik, Poland, Odorowska first came to this country to visit friends in Milwaukee.
"I came to the United States in 1999 just for four months for a vacation and I worked in Milwaukee as a babysitter," she said.
She returned to Poland to continue her education at Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej w Lublinie and to prepare for what Odorowska described as her dream job: teaching special education students. "I was thinking that would be my first and last time in America. I never intended to come and live here," she said. "I was supposed to start teaching in September of 2000. But in spring I began thinking, 'Maybe it is worth it to go back to America and learn English.' I was young. So, I came to America."
Two days after earning her master's degree, she was on a plane to Chicago. When Odorowska landed, she had $4 in her pocket. The night she arrived she began cleaning office buildings.
"The first two years I didn't know the language and I didn't have a good job so I went to Gateway Technical College and took ESL (English as a second language) classes in the evening and I worked nights," she said. "When I improved my English, I could meet American people and learn about the American culture. So after two years I decided that I would like to stay."
But staying tested her determination every day.
"I don't know if I would do it a second time," she said. "If I would have known what challenges I would have here and what hard times; I didn't realize the challenges of a new country. I was thinking, 'It's easy.' And it wasn't."
Education has always been important to Odorowska, and when she decided to stay in the U.S. she realized her master's degree from Poland would not open the doors to the type of professional career she desired. Turned out her educational opportunity was literally right in her own backyard. After moving to Kenosha in 2001, she discovered nearby Petrifying Springs Park.
"I love the park. I would go there almost every day," she said. On her way to park, she passed a large complex of red brick buildings. "Because I couldn't speak English, I couldn't ask people what this was," she said. "But seeing 'University of Wisconsin-Parkside' on the sign I sent for information.
"I liked Parkside from the outside--I didn't know anything about the school but I knew that some day I would study here."
The master's degree and accounting classes she took at schools near Chicago fulfilled many of the general education classes normally required of incoming students. When she began her studies at UW-Parkside, Jamie Wang, a professor of accounting made a positive impression.
"Thanks to him, the way that he was teaching, I was just sure that accounting was the area I wanted to pursue," Odorowska said.
Then she took a class with David Wright, a professor of finance.
"It was the required finance class for the business management major," Odorowska said. "The way he was teaching, I said I would love to go for finance, too."
Odorowska is a past recipient of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Villani, Becker and Larsen Accounting Scholarship and was recently awarded the university's Southport Bank Scholarship. After the current semester, Odorowska has two classes remaining to earn her degree. With the Buchholz scholarship, she plans to begin her M.B.A. studies at UW-Parkside as the next step in her educational journey.
"I think UW-Parkside has very talented, motivated, passionate and educated teaching faculty," Odorowska said. "Each professor I've had in the business school has different personal skills and different teaching methods. But this is how we see different perspectives about business from each teacher and get expertise in each area of business. In most of my classes, they don't teach us only the required materials. They teach us skills that we need."
Growing up in Poland under a totalitarian regime, Odorowska experienced a variety of teaching styles. "I grew up in Communism and this was a totally different system," she said. "Here, teachers treat us with respect and they know how to build in us self-esteem and self confidence. Through my business classes, I was not only learning the material but I developed social skills."
Prior to studying at UW-Parkside, Odorowska worked as accounting manager for the Hospice Alliance, and as accounting administrator at Racine Community Foundation, Inc. "I was doing well at my work, but when I started at Parkside, after each class I made a lot of positive changes," she said. "Last year, after my audit class, my auditor complimented me to my board of directors that this year the audits went smoothly like never before. They asked me to provide some materials, but from my classes I knew what else they needed."
Besides learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, succeeding at her job, and excelling in the classroom, Odorowska also found the time to become a U.S. citizen. She completed her exam in November 2008 and earned her citizenship in January of this year. When asked how she accomplishes so much, Odorowska credits good time management. She said she keeps distractions to a minimum and stays committed to her top priorities: her education and her career.
Odorowska's ultimate goal is to earn a Ph.D. in accounting and teach at a university. Not bad for someone who started her American journey with $4 in her pocket.