Student of the week: Brandon Pauling

As we all know, the deadline for taxes is fast approaching. Brandon Pauling, a junior accounting major, has volunteered his time to make sure people in the Wilkes-Barre community are prepared for the April 15 deadline.

Pauling is a volunteer for VITA, which stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistantance. VITA volunteers, as stated on vita-volunteers.com, provide free income tax preparation assistance to those people who are low-income, elderly, disabled or speak limited English.

“I thought the program would be good to do because it’s something that I will be doing when I graduate from Wilkes. I also thought it was a good idea to help people in Wilkes-Barre with their taxes,” said Pauling.

In order to be a VITA volunteer, Pauling had to have taken both individual and corporate taxes, two courses taught by Ms. Cynthia Chisarick, associate professor of the Sidhu School of Business and Leadership, and he also had to pass a test given by VITA.

Pauling considers being a VITA volunteer excellent practice and hopes to gain more experience in the field of accounting.

He has been helping an average of three to four people every Saturday since the beginning of February. The last day Pauling will be volunteering for VITA is February 27.

The Beacon: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Pauling: In ten years, I would like to have my CPA licenses, and either be high up in a CPA firm or be an accounting manager in a company. I would like to get my MBA during that time and maybe have a family.

The Beacon: Describe yourself in three words.

Pauling: Nice, friendly and helpful.

The Beacon: Finish the sentence, “My friends would be surprised to know…”
Pauling: What size shoe I wear, which is a size 13.