Student Success Stories- Johnathan Diem

What was it like to be a student at RMC?

A lot of fun. College is inherently awesome. Rocky is even more rad because it is located in Montana. When you aren't studying or attending class you can enjoy some of the most incredible geography that the country (and even world) has to offer.

What was your favorite part of being a student at RMC?

My favorite part of being a student at Rocky was the size of the institution. Rocky's small community allowed me to forge life-long relationships with a diverse group of people, different than myself. Many larger schools advertise by their diversity numbers, but at Rocky students live, study, and work among them. The school is too small to segregate, and requires students to interact with individuals different than themselves. Because Rocky is so small, it allows students to absorb a piece of nearly every other student on campus.

Why you would recommend Business and Accounting at RMC?

The professors are first-rate and care deeply for their students and small class sizes demand thoughtful interaction.

Did you complete an internship as a part of your RMC experience? How was that?

I completed three internships: one with regional accounting firm, one with a boutique winery in Idaho, and one with the United States Senate Committee on Finance in Washington D.C. Internships are essential to securing quality employment at graduation, and the business department does a great job encouraging this. Each internship I engaged in taught me valuable technical skills and more importantly, life skills. The business program understands this fully and offers students up to 12 credits for internships. Those 12 credits equate to 75% of a full-time semester load, clear evidence of the school's commitment to a learn-by-doing pedagogy.

How's life after Rocky?

My professional career started in Seattle, WA when I was employed as a Tax Associate with Clark Nuber Public Accountants & Consultants, a regional professional services firm. From here, I transitioned to industry, where I worked as a Sr. Tax Analyst for Fresenius Medical Care - a publicly-held medical company based out of Germany. While at Fresenius, I developed experience working with tax technology and systems. My time working with accounting systems at Fresenius acted as an experience-bridge which led me to my current role at KPMG where I am now an innovation & technology consultant - specializing in robotic process automation, tax system implementations, and modeling. The education I received at Rocky taught me the principles of business and accounting, but more importantly it taught me how to learn and think independently. The daily function of my career has shifted drastically, from being a tax preparer to a technology consultant. Without the ability to learn new skills independently, this shift would have never happened for me. I have Rocky to thank for this.