JeLissa Morgan
MPAc '22
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion. Pick one of these words and tell us what it means to you.
The word that means the most to me is inclusion because as a black woman in accounting, I'm in a field which is approximately 84% white male dominated. Inclusion involves addressing diversity, holding leaders accountable and recognizing biases. Inclusion creates a collaborative, supportive and respectful work environment. Even outside of work, inclusion helps deal with the problems of prejudice and stereotypes, develop social skills, builds trust within the community, and even addresses issues like gender equality, healthcare policies and poverty.
Can you share with us one (academic/professional) highlight from your time at Rady?
Completing my Capstone was one of my academic highlights. The Capstone course is intended to apply knowledge that we’ve gained over the course of our program. My Capstone was called “Building a Stronger Cybersecurity Strategy- Creating a Sustainable Future.” It was about explaining what cybersecurity is, the importance of your company developing a cybersecurity system, auditors assessment of cybersecurity and the different risks that could potentially come with not developing a cybersecurity system. The Capstone project improved my confidence in accounting, broadened my area of interest, and helped improve my social skills of getting out of my comfort zone.
One of Rady's guiding principles is that we are Community Focused. What has community looked like for you at Rady?
With the opportunity of being surrounded by people from around the world, and hearing their stories, it motivated me to explore not only the different areas in accounting I can go after career wise, but also to pursue more opportunities personally. Some of my cohorts are creating their own businesses, some of my instructors are pursuing their PhDs and publishing their research, some of my classmates have already obtained their CPA license, and even with my apartment mate is pursuing her doctoral degree - these relationships have helped expand my knowledge of what I thought I wanted to do. It helped me to realize that I could go down multiple paths in life and still find success and happiness, and develop different skills sets.
Beyond your professional life, what brings you joy?
A couple of things that bring me joy include spending quality time with good people, staying in my apartment and watching shows on Netflix, going out to eat, traveling to a new country, and trying new foods and activities.
