My name is Tawfic Siiba. I was born and raised in Ghana, a country located in West Africa and south of the Sahara Desert. Ghana shares a common boundary with Burkina Faso to the north, La Cote D’loire to the west, Togo to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
I arrived in the United States in 2013 and it was a dream come true. This was because I knew that my educational goals and career would be secured here, and I could take advantage of some opportunities that were not afforded me in my own country. However, a few months after arriving in the United States, I found myself nearly homeless. My plans of going to school were immediately crushed by my parents because they thought that college would be a waste of time and not affordable. Instead, they preferred that I secured a well-paying job.
Going to school would have been difficult because my family lacked the basic provisions needed for me to attend school. In Ghana, staying in school with no basic provisions was a challenge that negatively affected my earlier education. My familys only means of getting food or money was dependent upon on our farm production. Many times, I resorted to copying class notes for my friends so that I could get money for food to eat during lunch breaks. Our family food resources became so scarce that we ended up having to ration and conserve the little dinner we had each evening and use it for breakfast the following morning. I remember the only way I was able to sustain myself many days was by going to a friend’s house for dinner.
Another way I found to survive while in school was to become a cobbler. As a cobbler, I was able to earn some money during my village’s market days. Because of my family’s financial struggles, I had to make the decision to leave school and become a farmer to help my family full-time. I don’t blame my parents for not allowing me to go to college, because none of my family members ever went to college. My mother never even went to school. It was a very tough decision for me to not attend college. I became depressed and spent months wondering how my life would turn out without a college education.
One day, I decided to contact the City of New York University’s (CUNY) help desk to see if they could provide information on how to apply for admission to Bronx Community College. I never told my parents that I applied. CUNY helped me apply to Bronx Community College and I patiently waited for an acceptance letter to arrive in the mail. In the fall of 2014, Bronx Community Collage accepted me for admission. I couldn’t believe it!
I attended and did very well at Bronx Community College. The business department chose me to be a supplemental instruction leader (S.I Leader) to help other students facing difficulties in accounting and assist them to enhance their accounting knowledge. I later received an offer to be the accounting tutor at BCC and I gladly accepted with an open heart! I was also on the president’s list at BCC for Spring 2014, Fall 2015, and Spring 2016 consecutively. And, once I transferred to Lehman College, I made it on the President’s list for Fall 2016.
I was invited to join several honor societies during my time at both BCC and Lehman. I am currently a member of four honor societies, namely; Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Beta Gamma, ALPHA and NABA. I am also an award winner of the New State Society of CPAs’ Marilyn Flood Memorial Scholarship, OnForce Solar Scholarship, and S.T George Scholarship.
Thankfully, I was able to secure a winter internship with PwC which began in January and ran through March of this year. I completed my internship with a full-time offer to start with the firm after I obtain my CPA Certification.
I have attended several leadership workshops and conferences throughout my life as an undergraduate student. These conferences have opened my eyes and extended my professional knowledge and development. I have also gained a strong professional network of motivated accounting professionals and students. I am currently holding a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.90 and a major GPA of 3.92.
I am studying for the CPA Exam with Roger CPA Review and feel confident that I will successfully pass the exam and obtain my CPA credential. Once I become a CPA, I want to be engaged in community work where I help to motivate young individuals who are willing to pursue a degree in the accounting profession.
It’s a great honor to be the first person in my family to attend college and becoming a CPA will fulfill one of my greatest dreams.