Q: How did you choose your career field?

“I discovered my passion in making a difference for patients behind the scenes.” Darcy Davis

Darcy Davis:  As a freshman at Mercer's Eugene W. Stetson School of Business & Economics (Mercer Business), I knew I wanted to be a professional in the field of accounting. Unlike fields such as medicine, accountants can begin practicing in their field rather quickly. In accounting, individuals take the CPA exam, and if they pass, they are a certified professional in the field of accounting. While there are pre-requisites to being qualified to sit for this challenging exam, they are attainable in a relatively shorter time frame than other professions.  Entering the career field as a professional shortly after graduating from Mercer was attractive to me as a student.

Following graduation at Mercer, I worked in public accounting, across various types of industy, at McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co. It was during the time that I conducted audits of hospitals, ambulance companies, home health companies and other healthcare related businesses that I discovered my passion in making a difference for patients behind the scenes. After two years of work in public accounting, I took and passed the CPA exam.  I then accepted a position as a Controller with CareSouth Home Health Services. Since then, I have specialized in accounting within the healthcare industry. Currently, I am the Chief Institutional Officer for the Health Care District of Palm Beach County in West Palm Beach, Fl.

Q: How was Mercer Business influential in helping define your career interests?

Darcy Davis:  As a student at Mercer, I knew I was interested in accounting, but I didn't appreciate the breadth of career options that were available in the field. I distinctly remember an accounting professor at Mercer Business who went on leave to testify as an expert witness in a trial. This intrigued me, because it opened my eyes to the extent of what a person can do with an education in accounting. Learning about this professor's experience recommitted my interest in accounting, and made it clear that sitting behind a desk plugging in numbers to a spreadsheet isn't the sole identity of an accountant.

Once technical skills are mastered, so many opportunities are open for accountants to practice and employ their degree.

Q: What special advice do you offer Mercer Business students?

Darcy Davis: Technical skills are a must, but success lies in the whole person. Consensus-building, diplomacy, and tact are traits equally important as one's knowledge. In many ways, I've become an interpreter, being able to convey technical accounting-related information in a way that a non-technical person can understand. Success is in understanding more than debits and credits; it's being able to convey knowledge to others and relate to those I work with. Success is achieved through developing the whole person, something that Mercer's learning environment fosters in its students.

Q: What is most memorable from your Mercer experience?

Darcy Davis:  Meeting my husband, of 17 years now, is my most memorable moment at Mercer. Beyond my husband, however, I remember the relationships I formed in college. Mercer has an excellent alumni community. I am still in contact, 20 years later, with many of the people I was friends with in college. I formed an extended family at Mercer, and years later we share a common set of experiences that keep us together.