Professor Nance is one of 2020’s Top 50 Women in Accounting!
I feel like I should take a bow, write an acceptance speech, or something. My emotions are all over the place, and yet, I’m still in shock that out of 673 individual nominees, I made the top 50! It’s such an honor and so humbling at the same time.
As I’m sure you all know, 2020 was a very difficult year. In January, I launched the new and improved “Professor Nance” platform, via my YouTube page, with more engaging content and an edgy persona. I also become more active on social media. By April, I went completely MIA. I had so many plans for how I wanted to continue to develop content and how I wanted to provide my students with more accessible accounting videos, but the sadness and depressive state of the world overshadowed everything.
Receiving this honor based on my accomplishments from the first few months of 2020, gives my whole life new perspective. As they always say, you never know who’s watching, and when you fall, keep getting back up. Well, thanks to Practice Ignition, I’m standing with pride as I accept this piece of history.
Professor Nance is on the map, y’all!
To keep the celebration going, I’m going to share with you my response to one of their questions below.
Provide an example of how you are actively promoting inclusivity and diversity in your workplace.
I am a black, Muslim, woman CPA. A triple threat by some, and the ultimate minority by others. I actively promote inclusivity and diversity everyday by showing up in spaces that I will never fully fit into.
In addition to teaching accounting and working to bring other women of color into the field, I also work for a non-profit organization (Generation Teach), whose vision is to end racial injustice and inequity in education.
My background is checkered with experience working in governmental, educational, and nonprofit organizations. Upon graduating from college, I decided that I wanted to use my accounting powers for good. I was pursued by corporate America and public accounting firms, but I decided that I wanted to give back to my community through accounting.
I actively promote inclusivity and diversity in accounting every single day, just by showing up. I learned a long time ago that, unlike some, I don’t have to make a big splash to be seen – my hijab and skin color does that for me. The benefit of being the “ultimate minority” in my field is that I’m a walking billboard for what a racially, religiously diverse woman can accomplish in the workplace.
A True Badge of Honor.
When I first received the email, I thought of every reason in the world why this was “no big deal.” However, that’s BS.
If 2020 taught us nothing else, every opportunity to celebrate should be fully harnessed and embraced. I embrace this honor.
I hope that you do the same in your life. Remember to celebrate all of the little things, the minute details, the things that don’t matter to anyone else.
Tomorrow is not promised, so let’s celebrate the hell out of the here and now!
