Hutton School of Business sponsors local student

University of the Cumberlands’ (UC) Department of Business recently sponsored a local high school student to attend the Kentucky Society of CPA’s annual Business and Accounting Summer Education (BASE) Camp held in Louisville, Kentucky.

The department sponsored Jacqueline Oliphant, a senior at Whitley County High School who takes dual enrollment classes at Cumberlands. Besides taking general education courses, Oliphant has also completed an accounting class at the University.

“We are very proud to sponsor Jacqueline for this summer’s camp,” said Jake Brock, Assistant Professor of Accounting at Cumberlands, who taught Oliphant’s accounting course. “She is an excellent student with a strong aptitude for accounting and business concepts. BASE camp is a valuable experience that exposes students to an array of opportunities for networking, team-building and exploring a variety of career opportunities in business-oriented professions.”

BASE camp offers high school students from across the state an opportunity to learn the basics of business and accounting in a hands-on, interactive format. Activities included a tour of Papa John’s headquarters, a mini audit of an ice cream parlor and other workshops concerning finance and business.

Oliphant’s career goal is to become an actuary, working for an insurance company and working to help clients figure out what to pay for their insurance, predict future statistics regarding their accounts with the company, and so on. Oliphant had never been offered an experience like BASE camp before, and she enjoyed the new adventure.

“It was really fun! I liked the experience,” said Oliphant. “It was honestly enlightening. I knew I wanted to be an actuary, but then I got a chance to go in depth with it, get more knowledge, see if I actually want to do this, and I do. It was great!”

The Department of Business at Cumberlands has donated funds to the Kentucky Society of CPAs for years, to help sponsor students who want to attend BASE camp. Now that the department has been able to sponsor a specific student, it hopes to continue sponsoring local high school students to attend the camp in the future.

Located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, University of the Cumberlands is an institution of regional distinction offering quality undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and online degree programs. Learn more at ucumberlands.edu.