Strength in self-discovery

In Clinton, North Carolina, a town of mostly rural farmland where everybody knows everyone else, Terri Boone (BA ’23, MAC ’24) grew up always knowing what came next.

From the age of 5, she wanted to be a lawyer and there was no convincing her otherwise. In high school, she and her friends talked about going to college and then returning to Clinton for work and perhaps to raise a family.

As a Carolina undergraduate, Boone double-majored in political science and African American studies, with a minor in philosophy, politics and economics — a solid pre-law blueprint.

Her plans were happening like clockwork, but the transition wasn’t easy. Boone was shy and intimidated by the sheer size of the UNC campus. By her sophomore year, the clock was moving in a different direction.

She saw friends set on a particular path explore other academic interests and questioned whether she wanted to dedicate several post-graduate years of additional schooling needed to practice law.

“It was scary in the sense that I was going against everything I had known since I was a child,” says Boone. “I was leaving behind everything that I had looked forward to.”

Then she discovered the MAC Mentorship Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, designed to introduce undergraduates to the basics of finance, accounting and the leadership skills needed to succeed in business, especially for those considering the Master of Accounting (MAC) Program. She followed up with an undergraduate research course where students work on teams in a case competition and are coached by business professionals.

Professor Tamara Barringer told that class something that will forever stay with Boone: They had to learn how to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

“That has really shaped me,” she says. “That’s just something that I live by now because in the business world or just life in general, you’re going to always find yourself in some uncomfortable situations. Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable — it’s just been my motto.”

Now, after earning her unexpected MAC degree, she has not moved back to Clinton but to Charlotte, working as an associate in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ asset and wealth management division.

UNC Kenan-Flagler didn’t exactly change Boone. It introduced her to the person she had always been.

“The MAC Program challenged me to push myself to my limits and see what I can really do,” she says. “It just opened my eyes to what, or I guess what I thought, I couldn’t do. Now I know I can do it.”

Boone opened up in a way people only can when they encounter something that feels seamlessly right. The coursework was difficult; Boone expected that. She came in without substantial experience in accounting or business. Introverted, self-doubting first-year-college-student Boone would have felt overwhelmed, but MAC student Boone felt empowered and supported when she looked for it and when she didn’t.

Dave Jackson, MAC director of admissions, Crystal Reed, MAC associate director of admissions, and Katy Lucci, MAC assistant director of student engagement, reached out to Boone to check in and offer support as she took courses on auditing and taxes to advanced spreadsheet modeling. She felt the same support from fellow students and through mentorship from alumni.

“The MAC Program challenged me to push myself to my limits and see what I can really do,” says Boone. 

“I felt like I belonged, that I had actually found my people, people who I know are going to be in my life for a long time,” she says. “There’s a true sense of community in the MAC Program. Everyone knows we’re on the same playing field, and at the same time we’re all working for the advancement of each other. There was always this feeling of this is where I belong. This is what I’m meant to do.”

Boone’s self-confidence is higher than ever before. She finds herself more adept at making small talk, thanks to practicing elevator pitches and learning effective business communication fundamentals. After becoming one of Barringer’s teaching assistants, she has not ruled out teaching in the future. The summer before heading to Charlotte, she worked for Raleigh Parks and Recreation, teaching financial literacy to teens in summer camps.

“I’m the most confident in myself and my abilities than I ever have been,” she says. “If you told me even a few years ago that I would be getting a master’s degree in accounting, I probably would have said that there was no way. But looking back at everything, I know now that I was supposed to be here. I’ve done so much that I never thought would’ve been possible for me.”