Accounting Faculty Instilling Self-belief & 热爱数字

《星际官方赌钱》作者:安妮·德德吉安

萨曼莎Overton wasn’t lacking in smarts when she enrolled at 皮马社区学院 in 2008, but she certainly was lacking in confidence.

“我不相信自己. I truly thought I was going to fail,” she candidly admitted.

Samantha graduated from Pima in 2012 with an associate degree in business and an honor’s certificate, went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, 通过注册会计师考试, and is now a Pima accounting instructor. 她的旅程是不平凡的, filled with challenges and triumphs that have shaped her into the inspiring graduate and faculty member that she is today. 

萨曼莎在科罗拉多斯普林斯长大, 科罗拉多州, and traveled a lot in her early adulthood with her then-husband, 一个水手. She worked in various industries, including as a hairstylist. She moved to Tucson in 2005 after her divorce. 

最后，她遇到了一个新伴侣. They had a son, who would become her impetus for pursuing higher education. She recalled gazing down at her three-month old son and becoming inspired to return to school.

“I was just kind of looking at him and thinking, I really want him to grow up believing that you can do whatever you want to do. And I had always wanted to be in accounting. So, I thought, well, I'm going to go for it. I'm going to go back to school and try,”她说。. "There was no way I could afford the university, but I knew that financial aid could cover the tuition at Pima."

As Samantha started classes in Pima in 2008, she struggled with then-undiagnosed learning disorders – including a reading disability and dyscalculia (which affects the brain’s ability to do math). She hadn’t enjoyed high school, where she felt “stupid and incapable.” 

“我没有意识到我有残疾. I just thought I was dumb,萨曼莎说。.

But her determination would help her overcome these barriers. She developed tricks and coping mechanisms for dealing with numbers and mathematics. She sought help from 访问 and 残疾的资源. And she drew strength from the unwavering support of various faculty members, 包括Renee Richard, 埃德加拉格尔, Doloros Durán Cerda (now acting chancellor of Pima) and Kenneth Vorndran. 

Durán Cerda and Vorndran coordinated the honors program at the time and invited Samantha to join, encouraging her to get involved in college activities. Samantha said,” “Vorndran just believed in me. I had never really had that before from someone, especially somebody who didn't know me at all. He just was like, 'I know you can do this.'"

Richard and Gallagher mentored Samantha as she tutored other students and went through a supplemental instructor program. 他们教她如何教书.

“I say all the time that if it hadn't been for my time at Pima, I would not have anything that I have today,”她说。. “我学会了如何相信自己.”

"I say all the time that if it hadn't been for my time at Pima, I would not have anything that I have today...我学会了相信自己。”.——萨曼莎·奥弗顿

When Samantha graduated from Pima, she had more than a degree. 她有了“一种新的自信”.”
Samantha earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in 2014. 在此期间, she also discovered she had dyscalculia, which had affected her confidence in mathematics throughout her life. She had always worked around it, even while not knowing she had it.

“It was such a relief to understand why I never quite got it the way everybody else did,萨曼莎说。.
She passed the Certified Public Accountant exam in 2016 and completed her master’s degree from Rider University in 2019. She had been an embedded tutor in Pima accounting classes, then was hired as a full-time provisional faculty member and discipline coordinator before becoming a full-time permanent accounting faculty member this fall. 

Samantha’s teaching philosophy incorporates not only academics but also personal growth and self-belief. She shares her journey with students on the first day of class, letting them know that they can overcome their hurdles with determination. She strives to build a strong rapport with her students, urging them to share their dreams and aspirations.

As for her future, Samantha said she has found her calling.

“这就是我想做的. 我想教书. I want to be there for the students, and I want to put all my time into that.  That is where I see myself – in the classroom,萨曼莎说。.