University of Illinois | 150 Years & Beyond

Who says accountants don't know how to have a good time?

Not Victoria (Fan) Azalde. Not after what she experienced one fall day in 1993, anyway.

“It was my freshman year and first introduction into the glamorous world of accountancy. I found myself in Foellinger Auditorium, a majestic academic lecture hall seating hundreds for my first accounting course, Accountancy 101.

“As an 18-year-old, I wasn’t entirely convinced I fit the mold of a stereotypical accountant. I wanted to be creative, think outside of the box. Then, one day, our accounting professor brought on stage two of her new pet ducks. She needed names for the ducks and solicited the help of the accounting students. 

“We ended up naming the ducks Accy and Quacky. It was in this moment I realized that accountants are creative and fun. 

“This course led me to Google, where I spent 10-plus years, then the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as assistant controller and now Uber as global assistant controller."