Nathan Herrmann’s commitment to short-term goals help give him a bright future

Friday, September 1, 2017

Rain or shine, a mile or 10 miles, neither element nor distance can slow down Nathan Herrmann. The accounting student at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business knows all about determination. He runs 40 to 50 miles a week in his free time.

“It’s the sort of sport where you set a goal, sometimes months away, and you plan your training accordingly,” said Herrmann. “It’s something you have to go out for six or seven days a week to make it a possibility.”

It’s in Herrmann’s nature to commit to a long-term goal and achieve it. His career and education aspirations are no different. He is currently in the Spears Business Professional Program in Accounting, which allows students to earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting in five years. His favorite thing about accounting is the way that everything fits together, neat and organized.

His passion for accounting was influenced by his father, Don Herrmann, long-time OSU accounting professor, who has always referred to accounting as the “language of the business world.”

“People assume, oh you love math; it’s like, not really. You don’t need anything past Algebra. You do need to understand how things relate to one another and how to organize things to get info to people in a concise manner,” Herrmann said.

The class he enjoys the most is Advanced Tax, taught by Scott White, assistant professor in the School of Accounting. While White certainly covers the accounting material in class, Herrmann’s favorite part of class is when he applies these skills to our everyday lives.

“He’d take these little breaks in the middle to just tell us about how we can use what we’re learning to make our lives better. I really enjoyed him doing that,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann has had the chance to become very involved in organizations across campus. He is a small group leader for KLIFE, a Christian student organization. He is a Camp Elim program director, a Spears Scholar Leader and McGraw Hill Student Ambassador.

He is also very active in his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and in his role as treasurer for Business Student Council. Throughout his time at Spears Business, he says his education hasn’t just laid the foundation for his future career, but his life in general.

“There’s a lot of things in a job where it’s not about skills. Interpersonal skills are very important. I’ve learned about it in the orgs I’ve been in at Spears. There’s so many resources available to me to take an idea to action,” he said.

After studying over winter break during his sophomore year, Herrmann scored a 760 on the GMAT which will give him several opportunities in the future.

After graduation, he will move to Denver, Colo., where he will work as an auditor with KPMG. He completes the five-year accounting bachelor’s and master’s program, the 150-course hours he will have under his belt will make him eligible to take the CPA exam.

As for his exact plans for the future, “I’m excited to start in public accounting and then we’ll see what happens from there. One good thing about having a high score on the GMAT is I could go on to get an MBA, so maybe I’ll be back at a university teaching someday. Who knows?”