Accountant Found Her Home and Voice at St. John's

“Of all the schools inside the circle that I entertained, St. John’s was the only one that matched my view of what a college was,” Ms. Frempong continued. “I could walk to the campus, but once I got there, it felt like a true university.”        

Ms. Frempong spent five years at St. John’s Queens, NY, campus, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in taxation. During that time, she secured an internship with the global professional services and accounting firm EY, formerly Ernst & Young.

Ms. Frempong impressed during her internship and soon thereafter began full-time work in its tax division. More than 17 years later, she has risen to the position of tax partner in the global compliance and reporting division at EY and is a member of the Board of Advisors at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business and the University’s Board of Governors.

Ms. Frempong said she owes much of her success at EY to her time spent at St. John’s, including her time sorting out opportunities with University Career Services staff and alumni.

“That is something St. John’s does well and something I will always be grateful for—bringing back alumni to share their experiences, including how they adapted to the corporate environment or what to expect when you start your career,” she said. “I never felt as if I was figuring things out on my own; I always had guidance from professors and alumni.”

Ms. Frempong, who now lives in Secaucus, NJ, came to her St. John’s major indirectly. Initially torn between pursuing a degree in pharmacy or business, she opted for business at Tobin, then pivoted from economics to accounting at her dad’s urging.

Two decades later, she is happy to say her father was correct.  

“My dad is a very practical man, very much a West African dad,” Ms. Frempong said. “He is an accountant; he has friends who are accountants. He used to say, ‘If you want to graduate and have a job, you need to be an accountant.’”

Ms. Frempong’s time at St. John’s was marked by constant motion. While an undergraduate, she worked at a Starbucks  in Manhattan, often leaving her Queens home before 4 a.m. and taking the subway to midtown.  

Beginning work at 5 a.m., she would continue past noon, return via the subway to Queens, and take a bus to campus for classes. After classes ended, she would spend time studying in the library, head home to sleep—and then repeat the process the next morning.

That schedule did not keep her from being engaged on campus, however. While a student, she served on the executive board of the St. John’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society for financial students, and was a member of several other clubs.

“My schedule taught me a work ethic that allowed me to be successful at EY,” Ms. Frempong said. “I was able to juggle working 25 to 30 hours a week. Being in clubs across the campus and doing well in my courses taught me a discipline that helped me be successful.”

As a member of both the Board of Governors and Tobin’s Board of Advisors, she uses her experiences at St. John’s to chart a future path for the University and its students. Her advice to current and future Johnnies is to take advantage of all the University has to offer.

“I developed great relationships with my professors, who steered me the right way and introduced me to people who helped me clarify my path,” Ms. Frempong said. “And the folks at Career Services—they need to become your friends.”

“As you go through your classes, do well,” Ms. Frempong continued. “But in today’s world, you need other advantages, so lean in and take advantage of what St. John’s offers.”