Life happens. Plans veer off course. But, sometimes, the drive to achieve a goal never leaves us.
On May 10, 2024, after decades of working to support her family and pursuing her ultimate goal of becoming an accountant, Kimberly Keith earned her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the NIU College of Business.
“I went to one year of community college after high school. Like many students, I ran out of money and because I heard the horror stories of people being in debt for decades, I decided to stop and save money to go back to school,” Keith said. “I always tell people that ‘life happened.’ I was married and had kids. I then divorced when my children were four years old and an infant, and I knew it was my job as a mom to raise them, and subsequently I home-schooled them. When they were older teenagers, I got a job at NIU.”
At that time, Keith began working as a custodian for NIU’s Music Building, and she continued working as a custodian on campus for over 20 years. During this time, she decided to take advantage of NIU’s tuitionreimbursement program for employees. In 2014, Keith began working toward her accountancy degree — a journey that took a full decade.
“I started just taking classes one at a time in spring and fall semesters,” she recalled. “Before long, I started adding summer and then sometimes two classes each semester. I went back to Kishwaukee College and took three classes so I could get my associate degree there.”
While her day job and family responsibilities made it difficult for Keith to take part in some of the aspects of college life — such as parties, study sessions and extracurricular organizations — she did feel part of the College of Business. She noted that the students were kind to her and helped her when she had questions. The instructors were also encouraging, noticing that she listened closely and was motivated to learn.
“I was learning things I had no idea about. My classmates grew up with computers, phones, Excel and technology,” Keith said, adding that she built skills in Excel, Tableau and Alteryx, among other programs, while earning her degree.
“I was amazed I passed my Excel certification. I only bought my first computer three years ago. I used my kids’ old computers before that. It was very challenging, but quitting was never an option. I had to learn all that and the curriculum.
“I am very proud of myself that I was able to keep up with the kids and still get As and Bs. That was definitely the most fulfilling part. Just learning makes me happy. I plan to learn for the rest of my life!”
Keith’s interest in accounting began when she was a high school student.
“I was a very shy child who was afraid of getting into trouble. I was always interested in math. I learned very early on that I was different because I worked problems backwards. I told my math teacher in high school, and that teacher was the one who told me she thought I would be good at accounting,” Keith said.
Keith first had some accounting experiences when she was a manager at McDonald’s at age 16. There, she was in charge of counting down drawers, balancing those drawer amounts and doing bank deposits. Next, she worked for Warner Bros. Electric and Atlantic Records. Her boss asked what she wanted to do as a career and moved her from the warehouse to be trained in the front office.
Fast-forward more than three decades, and Keith finally had the opportunity to nurture her accounting sensibilities under the careful guidance of College of Business faculty and staff. Even though her original path was delayed, she never felt deterred from her goal, made stronger by the community of people around her.
“The people in my life — my kids, my friends — all have been supportive and cheering me on,” Keith said. “They did not underestimate me and always encouraged me. Very few people — those who don’t know me well — have said things like, ‘Why would you want to do that to yourself?’ or ‘What a waste of time.’ I did not listen to them, and I already had my sights set. I was going to finish!”
The 10 years she was studying in the college brought several opportunities for growth. Through the College of Business’ International Business Seminar program, Keith was able to travel to Vietnam for the first time.
“That experience showed me that business is business, but you must learn different rules and cultures when you do that business internationally,” she said. “I had a great time and thought Vietnam was beautiful and the people were amazing. It was eye-opening to see what U.S. businesses must do just to be in another country.”
Taking her time also proved to have its advantages, as Keith discerned what area of accounting she wanted to pursue.
Keith loved her internal audit class and, when a professor took her class to an international audit seminar in Chicago, she decided she wanted to pursue auditing as a career.
Keith went on to secure an internship as an accounting clerk intern at Revv Aviation, an aviation business in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
“It really helped me see and work in the real world of accounting. Classes and projects have exact answers, but in the internship, there was no exact answer and sometimes I had to look in different areas and dig very deeply,” she said.
After graduating last summer, Keith started her first full-time accountancy role working as a staff auditor for CDH, an international accounting and consulting firm focused on providing five-star service to its clients.
“At CDH, we work with privately held companies around the world. In addition to traditional audit, tax and accounting services, CDH offers a variety of other value-added services to our clients. My role will grow over time as I gain more experience,” Keith said.
Keith added that she loves the puzzle-solving part of the job, digging for the answer and learning new things. “I often work backwards to find that answer and feel like a detective when I’m doing that,” she said.
She notes that her new reality feels surreal now.
“It’s a major life change for me, starting a new career that I’ve wanted since I was 14 years old, leaving a job I’ve had for 20 years, getting a degree I’ve worked long and hard for and starting a new job using that degree,” she said.
Reflecting over her journey, Keith has a message for others wondering if their long-standing aspirations could ever become reality.
“The old cliché ‘it’s never too late,’ sounds dumb and overused, but it is true,” she said with a laugh. “I had to learn double, learning the new tech and doing my classwork. But, if you want it and are willing to ask and look dumb, you’ll do it!”
However, this is not the ending of Kimberly Keith’s story. She is still looking toward the future, testing her determination and building new skills.
“This fall, I started with the NIU MBA program, so the continued learning is still happening,” she said. “In the future, I see myself continuing to love my job, growing and advancing in the company, and continuing my education forever. I plan to stay in the area of audit for my whole career, but, if my journey has taught me anything, it is to never rule out anything.”
