{"id":13383,"date":"2022-12-01T00:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T08:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=13383"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:00:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T00:00:42","slug":"olga-gira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2022\/12\/01\/olga-gira\/","title":{"rendered":"Accounting Degree Gives Immigrant Pathway to American Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Scenic
Olga Gira, an immigrant from Moldova, is an accounting major at WSU Vancouver.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Olga Gira often falls into bed at 2 a.m. after a full day of classes at WSU Vancouver<\/a>, family activities, and homework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since she returned to school for an accounting<\/a> degree, it\u2019s been an intense few years. Two calendar apps on her phone and a daily to-do list help Gira keep track of class schedules, assignment due dates, and family responsibilities. Earning her degree has meant sacrificing sleep and free time, but the tradeoffs make Gira\u2019s upcoming May graduation that much more rewarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNext year, I\u2019ll turn 30, I\u2019ll have my bachelor\u2019s degree, and my son will go to kindergarten,\u201d she says. \u201cIt will be 10 years since I first stepped foot in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gira earned a university degree in Moldova, the former Soviet republic where she grew up, but realized she needed more education to get a professional job in this country. Family and friends supported her goal of earning a US degree. \u201cThey encouraged me to pursue my ambitions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the idea of returning to school was \u201ckind of terrifying,\u201d Gira says. \u201cI was an immigrant. The higher education system was different here. People talked about student loans and childcare costs. I wondered, \u2018How will I afford it? How will I take care of my family and do schoolwork?\u2019 It was all new territory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gira is part of a close-knit community of East European immigrants in Clark County. She didn\u2019t know any other Moldavian immigrants who had earned degrees in the United States, and, \u201cI did not know any other mothers in college who had young children,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A supportive community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gira attended Clark College for two years, where a subsidized campus daycare program helped simplify her childcare arrangements. As her confidence grew, her concerns about attending college in a new country\u2014and a new language\u2014receded. She spoke Romanian in Moldova and learned English after she emigrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat first semester, I probably raised my hand every minute,\u201d Gira says. \u201cI\u2019m sure it was hard for my professors and classmates to understand me at first, but I had so many ideas in my head I wanted to express.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Gira transferred to WSU Vancouver for her junior year, she found a supportive community at the Carson College of Business. Faculty members cared about her success, she says, and encouraged her explore the career possibilities available with an accounting degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOlga has an infectious, can-do attitude,\u201d says Claire Latham<\/a>, a recently retired accounting professor at WSU Vancouver. \u201cFrom her first day in my class, she stood out as someone so motivated and excited to learn from everyone on her journey: faculty, peers, business professionals, and advisors. That eagerness to get the most out of education\u2014both inside and outside the classroom\u2014is what I hope for every student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing an accounting career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gira credits the college\u2019s professional development opportunities for helping her build confidence and skills. She joined the honor society Beta Alpha Psi <\/a>and got involved in the club\u2019s leadership. She also took part in Meet the Firms\u2019 networking events and has been active in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program<\/a>, where IRS-certified students help people with their taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned what a good r\u00e9sum\u00e9 looks like, how to do a job interview, and the power of LinkedIn for professional connections,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I met people from many of the accounting firms in the Portland metro area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scholarships from WSU and outside organizations helped pay for her education. \u201cThey took pressure off of our family,\u201d she says. \u201cThe scholarships allowed me to focus on school and not worry about working a part-time job on the side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she graduates, Gira will complete her third internship and study for the CPA exam. She\u2019d like to complete one or two portions of the exam before she starts working full-time at Delap LLP in January 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a recent social gathering, another young, immigrant woman approached Gira with questions about going to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was so surprised that you can choose your classes and set your own schedule. That\u2019s not how it works in Moldova,\u201d Gira says. \u201cI told her that faculty here really care about how you are doing. The university offers so much more than classes, and there are so many programs where you can develop your professional skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Support student scholarships with a gift to the Carson College of Business Fund.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Olga Gira often falls into bed at 2 a.m. after a full day of classes, family activities, and homework. Since she returned to school for an accounting degree, it\u2019s been an intense few years for Gira, an immigrant from Moldova. But the tradeoffs make her upcoming May graduation that much more rewarding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[634],"featured_media":18191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[612,425,428],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13383"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18617,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13383\/revisions\/18617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13383"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=13383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}