Mark: Welcome to unsuitable on Rea Radio. The award-winning financial services and business advisory show that challenges your old school business practices and the traditional business suit culture. On this show, you’ll hear from industry professionals who will challenge you to think beyond the suit and tie, while offering you meaningful modern solutions to help you enhance your company’s growth. I’m your host Mark Van Benschoten. Today we’re going to discuss a topic that is near and dear to me, volunteerism and community service. As a leader of Rea’s not-for-profit team, I’ve had the opportunity to really dig into the not-for-profit world, and understand the critical role volunteers play for our service-minded organizations. Did you know that volunteering and community service is also a great way to invest in your professional development and professional career? Our guest today is Kaitlin McNeish. When she’s not working as a senior accountant with Rea, Kaitlin’s an active volunteer with a number of non-profit organizations and initiatives. We’re going to talk with Kaitlin today about her experiences and see what advice she has for young and seasoned professionals about volunteering and community involvement. Welcome to unsuitable, Kaitlin.
Kaitlin: Hi, thanks for having me.
Mark: Well, I’m really glad that you’re here. You’re probably the youngest person that we’ve had on the unsuitable so far.
Kaitlin: Oh, really.
Mark: You’ve got that distinction.
Kaitlin: Awesome.
Mark: Are you glad to wear that moniker?
Kaitlin: I am, I am.
Mark: How did you get started in volunteering?
Kaitlin: I grew up in Newark, Ohio, and my dad-
Mark: Is that Newark or Newark?
Kaitlin: Newark.
Mark: Okay, all right, all right.
Kaitlin: Yes, thanks for clarifying.
Mark: Okay.
Kaitlin: I think my parents just really instilled this helping others type of mentality for me, and I’m just very thankful for that, and I’ve just kind of carried that with me even throughout my professional career thus far.
Mark: I guess before we get started right into the subject … you like to run, right?
Kaitlin: I do. Yes.
Mark: You ran in college.
Kaitlin: Yes.
Mark: What do you get from running?
Kaitlin: I’ve often wondered that myself, but I kind of just get this kind of fulfillment of accomplishing something or running a better split than last time, or kind of competing with myself essentially.
Mark: You talk about fulfillment. I assume there’s fulfillment in your volunteerism?
Kaitlin: Yes, yeah.
Mark: Does that kind of go hand in hand?
Kaitlin: Yes, so far in my professional career, I’ve kind of thought about work life fit and work life balance in my first few years and how I can really achieve that. I’ve come to replace those words with the word fulfillment, and how I feel fulfilled, and what makes me feel good. I think a critical piece that was missing when I first started was I didn’t have that volunteering piece. I started volunteering with Junior Achievement a few years ago, and I’ve just kind of accumulated some other organizations after that, and it has really made me feel more fulfilled in my career.
Mark: We’ve got to back for a second. You said, “Work life fit.”
Kaitlin: Work life balance.
Mark: Work life balance, I think I understand.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: Work life fit?
Kaitlin: Being active, not only working out, but being active like volunteering is kind of how I view that.
Mark: I like that. Are you the originator of that?
Kaitlin: I am not.
Mark: Oh, you should-
Kaitlin: I’ll take credit, I’ll take credit.
Mark: Good. Unfortunately, we’re at our desk quite a bit, we’re sitting down, so fit, it’s kind of hard to stay fit and to stay active.
Kaitlin: Yeah, I think transitioning from being a collegiate athlete to working, going right into my first busy season. That was really difficult for me, and I remember finishing my first busy season thinking like, “Why don’t I feel good about the work I just … I helped a lot of clients, why doesn’t this feel good to me?” It wasn’t until I kind of evaluated what work life fit or work life balance meant, that I kind of came with volunteering help makes me feel good.
Mark: I think that’s a great introspective to sit there and to acknowledge that, because I was, at your age, many, many years ago, and I didn’t have that … I probably felt the same way, but I wasn’t able to acknowledge like, “Oh, what’s going on here?” I never ran collegiality, I ran in high school, but I never ran in college. I partook of other activities in college, let’s say that.
Kaitlin: I’d like to hear more about that sometime.
Mark: That’s for the unsuitable After Hours.
Kaitlin: Okay, yeah.
Mark: My daughters are not allowed to listen to that. Just to have a new perspective, like wow, what’s going on that I can change…
Kaitlin: Right.
Mark: What’s having an impact on me.
Kaitlin: Right.
Mark: That’s very mature of you.
Kaitlin: Well, thanks.
Mark: You got that going for you.
Kaitlin: One thing.
Mark: One thing. You mentioned your parents.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: What type of activities were they engaged in?
Kaitlin: My dad was a mental health professional, which I just have great respect for, and the self-awareness that he helped me achieve in my life, kind of back to the being aware of why I’m not happy in my first few years of working or few months. My mom was also a teacher, so it was also always giving back to the schools, helping in her schools, helping develop her students. Then my dad really helped a wide array of people that struggle with some mental health problems.
Mark: That’s neat again that you can acknowledge that, see that. I’m sure it was there, but some people have that in front of them, and they can’t appreciate that and take it for what it’s worth. That’s great that you were able to do that.
Kaitlin: Yeah, don’t get me wrong. I think that when I was younger, going to my mom’s school, I wasn’t really happy with that. I wasn’t excited to go help, but later in life, kind of reflecting back on that-
Mark: It’s back to your maturity.
Kaitlin: Yeah, oh, thanks. I kind of realize that I am very thankful for the way that I was raised.
Mark: You mentioned Junior Achievement.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: Which I think is just tremendous.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: We’re accountants, we’re CPAs, we’re talking about business. How did you get engaged in Junior Achievement?
Kaitlin: I’m very thankful that an old firm I used to work for had a good relationship with Junior Achievement, and they frequently sent out reminder emails that they needed help, they needed volunteers. A couple of years ago, I decided to respond and say, “Hey, yeah. I want to do that.” I had no idea what I was signing up for. I knew a little bit, enough to be dangerous, but I attended the training and it just went great. It was the chance for me to teach high school age students, which I had chosen. I think it’s K through twelve. There’s a wide array of levels you can teach and different programs you can teach. I think the younger kids focus on maybe taking care of a dog, and kind of relating financial literacy to taking care of an animal, or something like that. Whereas in high school, the course that I’m teaching are seniors who are about to graduate, so I’ve helped kids fill out their FAFSA-
Mark: Wow.
Kaitlin: Let them know that you can go to college. You don’t have to go to a four year program, but there are opportunities outside of high school other than a four year institution. For people in the Columbus area, I’ve been at Centennial High School for the past few years. It’s just been such a great experience working with those students, and back to the fulfillment, it really makes me feel fulfilled.
Mark: I think that’s just awesome, and you’re probably just a couple years younger than some of these high school seniors.
Kaitlin: Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.
Mark: You should, you should. Just the impact that you can have in helping like fill out the FAFSA form. I have two daughters in college, so I need to fill that, that’s a pain.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: I don’t like doing it-
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: I’m a CPA, been a CPA, I don’t like doing it. It’s intimidating, and for you to help somebody, that’s awesome.
Kaitlin: It was not part of the curriculum that we were going to be teaching these kids, but it was just a real life scenario that a girl came to me and said, “Hey, I really want to pursue life after high school, and advance my learning, and my parents don’t know how to fill this out. Do you have time to help us?” I mean, just moments like that are priceless.
Mark: Right. That’s awesome.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: How would you encourage somebody your age to get involved?
Kaitlin: I think it goes back to this mentality that I had in college, when you go to a new university and you don’t know anyone, and you’re kind of scared. What do you do to kind of get to know people better? Gain a new network is you just have to put your foot out there. Google, I mean, saves you. Just Google opportunities in my area or anything like that. Especially if there’s like a certain community you want to help. For me, teaching was pretty big. I included that in my Google search, or when I was thinking about things I could volunteer with. I know that Rea, I think it’s in Dublin. For opportunities in Dublin, it’s really easy to go out. I found a great website a few days ago with just events that are happening in Dublin that we can volunteer with.
Mark: Do you remember the website?
Kaitlin: I do not, but I will get that.
Mark: We’ll add that-
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: To the links in the podcast links. I don’t want to make it sound easy, but there is information out there if somebody really wants to get involved.
Kaitlin: Yeah, lots of good information.
Mark: What have you learned besides the fulfillment, what have you learned by volunteering?
Kaitlin: I think I’ve learned a lot of compassion for others. From my perspective, when I have to teach financial literacy to a high school student or someone younger than me, I’ve learned how I can relate and put in layman’s terms different financial literacy aspects, or in my case, like tax terms. It helps me talk to clients, so I’m not using this high level of information overload. I’m really relaying to them the important information that they can understand. It definitely helps me with that. It also just helps me appreciate a variety of different people. I’ve come across a lot of different students, and even adults networking, just to kind of expand my network.
Mark: That’s just great. For me, in my volunteerism, is empathy. Being able to be empathetic to somebody, and somebody once said, “Like, Mark, everybody puts their pants on leg at a time.” That just really struck home to me that we’re all got something to offer. We all put our pants on one leg at a time, and it just really just makes it human to me that we … No one is above, everybody’s same level, fighting the same struggles, and you need to reach out to people. When you reach out, you’re going to learn. It’s not always you’re giving. You’re going to take back some things.
Kaitlin: Absolutely.
Mark: I always find that to be empowering. Just like our conversation here. I’m learning a lot, and I’m very, very thankful for that.
Kaitlin: Yeah, me, too.
Mark: Have you done other things besides Junior Achievement?
Kaitlin: I have. Kind of financial literacy wise, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program-
Mark: Is that the VITA?
Kaitlin: VITA, yeah.
Mark: VITA, yeah.
Kaitlin: Run through the IRS.
Mark: Tomato, tomato, potato, potato.
Kaitlin: Exactly.
Mark: Circone, Chickoreno, same thing.
Kaitlin: When I was a student at Ohio Dominican, I was fortunate enough that they have their own VITA site on campus. It was actually a course that I took just volunteering. I think from March and April, helping … Really, they focused on the sixty-plus, I think, elderly people. Then-
Mark: Well, sixty-plus is not that elderly. Thank you.
Kaitlin: Sorry.
Mark: That’s all right.
Kaitlin: Didn’t mean to offend.
Mark: I’ll be there in a few years.
Kaitlin: They focused on being able to help people in group homes that don’t have the capacity to file a lot of the resident’s tax returns, or non-speaking or non-English speaking individuals. They help a variety of people who really appreciate the services, and it’s great to meet a lot of different people, and kind of expand on my … That was my first exposure to tax.
Mark: Wow. I think you’ve answered this question before, but I’ll ask it again. Do you think volunteering has helped you as an employee of Rea?
Kaitlin: 100%, yeah.
Mark: 100%?
Kaitlin: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Mark: That’s quite a statement.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: In what ways?
Kaitlin: I think going back to being able to talk to the client in layman’s terms. Honestly, it makes me a happier individual, which just makes me happier at work.
Mark: Which means a lot.
Kaitlin: Yeah, it does mean a lot. I think that in the future, kind of building more camaraderie since I’m newer to the firm, having people come teach Junior Achievement with me or participate in the Accounting For Kids Day Program, or maybe VITA, or something. It just helps build relationships with your people in the office.
Mark: I think that’s awesome. Put yourself in the seat of an employer, would you encourage people to be engaged?
Kaitlin: Definitely. I think in at least a couple interviews I’ve had over my lifetime, post-college, volunteering has come up. It’s been a topic. People are like, “Oh, I see this on your resume.” It is part … It’s the bottom part of my resume, but it’s still really important to me for employers to know that I like to have committed time to helping others. I definitely think it goes back to the empathy and compassion piece.
Mark: How to say this and not offend anybody, but for people of your age, you’re a little bit younger than I am. Are there like things, the web, like I don’t want to commit a whole year to teaching a Junior Achievement class, but I got three hours on a Saturday-
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: What can I do?
Kaitlin: That just reminds me of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. It’s three hours, and you can volunteer one Saturday or five Saturdays, it doesn’t matter. I think however much time you have, you can find a program that can suit your needs.
Mark: Through the web? Through the Internet?
Kaitlin: Definitely through the Internet, yeah.
Mark: We will be able to hook up with people. It’s not Tinder, sorry, but you will be able to find activities that you can get engaged in.
Kaitlin: Yeah, I think through the web, and definitely through LinkedIn. I know they have an entire volunteer section where-
Mark: Through LinkedIn?
Kaitlin: Yeah, if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer. Again, I think we can put instructions with this when we post this webcast, but I know there’s a certain way you can filter to just look at things that you’re interested in for volunteering.
Mark: Well, see, I’m learning something else.
Kaitlin: Good.
Mark: If you had to pick one thing, like a, “Wow, I stepped out of my box, I’m volunteering, that you’re most thankful,” what would that be?
Kaitlin: That’s a good question.
Mark: That’s my first one of the week.
Kaitlin: Honestly, I know we already talked about it, but I think it was helping the girl with her FAFSA. I think that was really … Her parents were so thankful, and she was so thankful, and she still keeps in touch with me. I think that one really hit home to me. I don’t think she thought she could go to college. I hope she listens to this podcast, too, because I’m just really proud of her, and I don’t think she thought … She didn’t think it was possible for her. She wants to study Accounting, and she has a full-time job, but right now as well as taking classes, but that specific example is really special to me.
Mark: That was just awesome to have … You seem to be a kind person, a giving person, and to have an impact on somebody tangible, to be able to look back and say, “I helped.” That’s awesome, and that’s not why you do it.
Kaitlin: Yeah, no, not at all. I don’t do it for me. I do it … I mean, I love seeing the smile on her face, and her parents-
Mark: Somebody’s backed into a corner-
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: Doesn’t see any way out, and here Kaitlin can march in and help out. That’s just awesome. Must have been a very proud moment for you?
Kaitlin: I did, yeah, I did feel very proud.
Mark: You also help out your brother a little bit.
Kaitlin: I do, I do. He’s a special kid. He turned twenty-one last weekend, so that was a riot, going to visit him at college, and relieving-
Mark: Ithaca if I remember correctly?
Kaitlin: Yeah, Ithaca, New York, yep. He’s a great kid. He has a very different career path that what I choose. He’s in TV Radio-kind of production. He’s going to be interning with MTV this summer, and I’m just so proud of him.
Mark: That’s very exciting.
Kaitlin: Yeah, so exciting. Helping guide him along and answer. He’s coming up with a lot more adult questions and financial like, “What do I do? What if I can’t find a job after school?” I’ve assured him he’s really never failed at anything, he’s not going to fail now.
Mark: Volunteerism isn’t just to somebody that you don’t know, right?
Kaitlin: Right, right. I actually created like a budget spreadsheet for my brother at some point. I can guarantee he does not use it, but I think, maybe it helped him be more aware of his finances. We’re going to go with that.
Mark: You’re going to go with that.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: I think that’s awesome. Your volunteerism isn’t just, “Oh, I’m going to do Junior Achievement.” I’m not trying to down play that or diminish the significance, but here committing to a family member, I think, is important also.
Kaitlin: Yeah, yeah.
Mark: I think a lot of us, we help out in a lot of ways to a lot of people that we don’t even acknowledge, and you go home, you might be feeling bad. “Oh, I didn’t have a great day. I didn’t put forth the best effort,” but you never know when you’re going to touch somebody or have an impact.
Kaitlin: Absolutely.
Mark: I think it’s great for employers. You said it best about being happy. Creating opportunities for employees to be happy that they, “Wow, I did this today.” It might be from serving a client, but it might be from giving me time to volunteer that I could help somebody, that you may not really recognize.
Kaitlin: Right, right.
Mark: In your example of the FAFSA form and helping somebody out, that’s awesome. You’re fortunate, not to put any pressure on you, but you’re fortunate to have that. Some people don’t have that opportunity.
Kaitlin: Yeah, I was really worried about walking through the FAFSA, and I don’t know if we did it perfectly, but we did something. I think I was fortunate enough that my parents took care of that for me, but I didn’t know how to do it, but I thought maybe it was like a tax form.
Mark: Right, sit down-
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: Maybe it’s not so much just filling out the FASFA, but just saying, “Hey, you’re important enough for me to take my time to sit down with you.”
Kaitlin: Absolutely.
Mark: That means … People have done that for my career, helping me out along the way, sitting down with me. I’ve always appreciated that, and sometimes maybe you don’t say, “Thank you,” enough, but just having those relationships is just extremely important to me.
Kaitlin: I think part of that for me is I had such great mentors in college, and I continued to network with them after college. It makes me want to give back. I had these great people that were guiding me along, all the way back from my parents, along my life, through high school, teachers, coaches, college professors. It’s just really made me want to give back.
Mark: That’s very impressive. Your parents should be proud of you. Your brother should be thankful, if he listens to this. I don’t know, maybe he can play this on MTV or something.
Kaitlin: We have a thirty-two hour drive to LA together, you better bet this is going to be on the radio for a bit.
Mark: We’ll have to make sure that this is up by then. Before we wrap up, there’s a question we ask everybody. I don’t know if you had a chance to listen to any of our thirty-one or thirty-two podcasts, but if you could have a super power, what would it be?
Kaitlin: My super power would be, and I hope nobody has used this before, but I would … I want the ability to teleport. To just go somewhere. I work in the Lima office, generally on Wednesdays, and I would just love to teleport myself there-
Mark: That’d be great.
Kaitlin: Save the three, three and a half hours-
Mark: Time, right I understand. Yeah.
Kaitlin: Yeah.
Mark: I don’t recall if anybody’s had that, but that would definitely be a unique one to have.
Kaitlin: Number one for me.
Mark: There you go. Well, that’s our show. Thank you for sharing your expertise and your experiences, Kaitlin. It’s been very meaningful to me. If you look for more business advice that can help you or your organization, visit www.reacpa.com/podcast. Don’t forget to check us out on iTunes or on SoundCloud, where you can subscribe, rate, and leave a comment. Thank you for listening to unsuitable on Rea Radio. Until next time, I’m Mark Van Benschoten encouraging you to loosen up your tie and think outside the box.
