Her Story
About Ana
I was born and raised in Cuba, where I studied accounting while simultaneously raising my son and working. After spending 6 years in Spain, I arrived in the United States in 2000. When I got here, I first completed my GED to learn English, then started working toward my associate degree, followed by my bachelor's degree. The journey took about 10 years because I had to stop for 3 years - it was very overwhelming. One day at an interview, someone encouraged me to go to a community college to finish my bachelor's because it was less expensive than a university, so I went to Palm Beach State College and finished in a year and a half. Through a colleague in my class who worked at Palm Beach State College and talked about the benefits, I decided to apply for a position. I found an entry-level interim position, and my manager and her boss both fought for me and another girl to become permanent employees. Today marks my 8th year anniversary at Palm Beach State College. I started as an accounting assistant and have been a GL accountant for the last 5 years. Looking forward, I want to continue growing in the accounting profession, learn more, and advance. I also love to teach people - I think I'm a good planner. I'm 61 and approaching retirement, and I want to retire with some money so I can travel the world.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ana
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
In my own personal experience, I always try to tell everyone I know to get an education. It's very important to have an education, even if you are not at the peak of whatever you want to achieve. I know people that had the knowledge, but because they don't have a little paper, they cannot grow in their careers. So that's very important. I tell everyone, everyone that I know - please, better yourself.
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