Senior accounting major Justen Booket is prepared for the business world — thanks to his experiences at Berry.
Justen grew up in Rome, Ga., and had always heard about Berry, but didn’t consider it as an option until he started seriously looking at colleges. When he realized he could get paid, professional work experience for all four years, could pursue a degree in business and play football, he knew it was the place to be.
At first, Justen figured he would concentrate on finance, but after taking an accounting course he loved, he switched his focus. Accounting and Finance Adjunct Instructor Kimberly Bushnell has continued to make a huge impression on Justen from the time he took her class as a freshman to her upper-level course he’s in as a senior. But Bushnell’s support goes beyond the classroom. She often attends Justen’s football games and cheers him on.
I am so proud of Justen and can’t wait to see where his career will take him. “He is a not only a leader and mentor to other students on campus, but also to his teammates on the football field,” Mrs. Bushnell says. “He was honored in 2018 as Berry’s nominee for the Allstate Good Works Team and I can’t think of more deserving player. I’ve seen his work ethic in the classroom and I believe he is a wonderful representative for Berry! I have no doubt that he will be successful in his future career in accounting.
Justen has had ample opportunity to take his accounting knowledge from the classroom to his LifeWorks positions. Already, he’s helped almost 100 people with their tax returns through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which gave him an opportunity to serve the community while applying what he learned in his tax law class. Justen has also worked as an accounting assistant for Berry’s kinesiology department where he managed the department budget, among other responsibilities.
To top it all off, Justen was a corporate accounting intern with the Harbin Clinic Corporate Office in Rome where he dealt with vendors and learned the business side of the health care industry.
Now, he is making plans for life beyond Berry. He’s interviewed with two Fortune 500 companies, Home Depot and Norfolk Southern, and has interviews lined up with several more.
“What makes Berry so special and different from every other college in the nation is…every single resource at Berry is designed for you to succeed,” Justen says. “Whether that’s the Career Center, whether that’s the student work program, whether that’s the alumni, whether that’s being able to do community service… The person you’re going to become, the people you’re going to meet, the things you’re going to get to do, you’re not going to be able to do anywhere else.”
staff writer
