U.S. News & World Report's 2025 "Best Colleges" rankings only confirmed what Hope Wheeler — and a legion of other accounting degree holders from the Gies College of Business — already knew.
"I’m proud to have earned my accounting degree in 1991 from one of the top programs in the country — right here at home," says the principal at Champaign's CliftonLarsonAllen.
"I also worked part-time at a local public accounting firm throughout college, and I’ve continued my career there ever since. Thirty-nine years later, I’m still going strong, and have U of I to thank for the amazing education it provided me."
The 2021 recipient of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award, Wheeler put in two years at Parkland College before transferring across town.
"A place that holds vivid memories for me is the Psychology Building on campus," she says. "As a daily commuter, I became intimately familiar with the joys — and occasional chaos — of campus parking.
"One rainy morning, while heading to an early class, I hydroplaned at a stoplight and gently tapped the car in front of me — I swear it was just a tap. I arrived to class late, drenched and frazzled, but somehow still managed to learn something that day.
"Despite that soggy start, the Psychology Building also holds some of my favorite memories. I often met a friend there to study, and we’d reward ourselves with a quick trip to The Cookie Jar for a cup of cookie dough — pure happiness in a cup!
"On the academic side, I have nothing but good memories of my accounting classes — OK, that is a stretch ± especially in David Kinley Hall. That building felt like home.
"And when it came to nightlife, Skylight was the spot. A great dance club where even accounting students could blend in and let loose."
