For Adam Like, MAcc ‘24, his path to St. Ambrose University began in an unexpected place: the baseball field. During his senior year of high school in 2020, Adam realized he wasn’t quite ready to hang up his bat. Recruited to join the St. Ambrose baseball team, he quickly found a strong sense of belonging on campus.
“It was a lot of time bonding with teammates. A lot of late nights. I got to travel to a bunch of games, and I made a lot of friends that way. It was just an overall positive experience,” Adam said.
Off the field, Adam discovered a passion for business and accounting. His interest grew as he progressed through his coursework, leading him to pursue both a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Accounting at St. Ambrose.
“I liked the accounting faculty. All of them prepared me for what I would see at my internship, and then kind of took me under their wing. It was more unique than I would get at a bigger school,” Adam said.
In January 2024, he chose to pursue an internship with RSM, an accounting firm in the Quad Cities. There, he got hands-on office experience with tax accounting while working 40 hours a week and taking 15 class credits through St. Ambrose.
“There were two other Ambrose grads in my class who interned with me, and that small-knit community, having a shared interest really helped us bounce off each other a little bit. Knowing people, same classes, stuff like that,” Adam said. “And I still talk to the people who interned with me.”
Adam’s transition from undergraduate studies to graduate coursework was seamless, thanks to the College of Business’s certificate program. By integrating master’s-level courses into his undergraduate schedule, he was able to build a strong foundation early on.
“I took a lot of master's courses as an undergrad because I did the certificate program through the College of Business. So really my last, my entire senior year was the rest of the requirements, and then master's classes to supplement it,” Like said.
For Adam, the classes in the Master of Accounting felt like a more theoretical approach to the topic of accounting, moving beyond asking “How?” and starting to ask, “Why?”.
“You know you're pursuing something difficult, and you know that they know that you're serious about it. You're thinking, ‘Okay, why are pensions this way? Why is accounts receivable this way?’,” Adam aid.
Looking ahead, Adam has big plans. First on his list is earning his Certified Public Accountant certification, a process that requires passing four challenging exams. Fortunately, his experiences at St. Ambrose have given him the tools to succeed.
He’s also accepted a full-time position at RSM, where he’ll have access to resources to support his CPA exam preparation. Long-term, Adam hopes to one day open his own accounting practice.
“Ask as many questions as you can,” he advised current students. “I 100% recommend the Master’s program if you love undergrad accounting. Recognize early that you want to pursue the master’s degree.”
