Jacob Pendergraft ’12, ’13 chose Shenandoah so that he could play on the baseball team and attend the well-respected School of Business. “The professors really do have your best interest in their minds,” said Pendergraft. “They want to see you succeed and are going to do everything possible to help you. Also, playing baseball under Coach Kevin Anderson will give you a great foundation to go into the workplace.”
Some of Pendergraft’s fondest memories of Shenandoah came from his time on the baseball team. During his four years on the team, the Hornets went to the College World Series twice and went to the regional tournament every year. He enjoyed the bus rides and travel. As for the academic side, he has fond memories of study sessions in his residence hall that sometimes went late into the night.
Pendergraft is a manager at the accounting firm in Winchester, Virginia. He works on the construction and for-profit audit and attest team. This team performs audits, reviews, compilations and tax services for these types of entities. Pendergraft has been with YHB for ten years now and has worked his way up from intern to associate, to supervisor, to his current position as manager.
The most rewarding part of Pendergraft’s career is leading and teaching a team of people about the certified public accountant profession (CPA) and industry as a whole. “Working with clients and helping them through complex issues and seeing them succeed is [also] rewarding,” said Pendergraft.
Pendergraft believes that his professors were an essential part of preparing him for his career after graduation. “I had great professors. I’ll single out my accounting professors, who taught me about the profession and gave me the tools to succeed.” Former Professor of Accounting and Braun Chair in Accounting Charles Pineno, Ph.D., made sure that Pendergraft was signed up for the proper courses to stay on track to take the CPA exam when he graduated. Former Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance Demetrius Carmichael helped Pendergraft acquire his internship with YHB, which brought a real world perspective to the classroom for him.
Pendergraft also says playing baseball under Coach Kevin Anderson taught him leadership skills and the art of multitasking, which is key in his profession.
Pendergraft’s advice to students is: “Work hard and be coachable.”