By: Andrew Porter
Of the 600 registered student organizations on UGA’s campus, none is looking to make a bigger splash this year than the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA).
NABA, which operates under the leadership of president and fourth year student Lamar Fletcher, serves to increase the awareness for opportunity amongst African Americans here on campus.
“Our vision is to be the go to organization for business majors to provide them the framework or support they need to be successful in the classroom and in the professional world,” Fletcher said.
NABA aims to serve as an advocate organization to students on campus by providing tutoring, internships, externships, and scholarship information.
Fletcher joined NABA last year at a time when the organization was experiencing a low level of membership. The president at the time continued to mentor and push him to stay active in NABA and to help recruit more members.
Through the influence of the president, Fletcher has been able to increase membership and has a personal goal to see NABA reach 50+ members this year.
This year NABA has three aims/ increases they are looking to accomplish—opportunity, visibility, and membership. During the course of the school year, NABA plans on throwing lots of social events, bringing different firms on campus so that members can network with recruiters, and to collaborate with organizations to increase awareness.
NABA is already getting started on increasing visibility on campus with Freshman Field Day on Friday August 28th from 5-7 p.m. The event, which is co sponsored with Georgia Daze and Black Male Leadership Society (BMLS) is a kickoff event to provide freshman a chance to learn about different orgs and to provide exposure for the orgs as well.
Although NABA serves business majors, third year Company Relations Director Kathleen Exantus spoke out about how NABA benefits majors from all throughout Terry.
“The best thing about NABA is that being a member means you are apart of a growing, diverse professional network that will serve you well after undergrad,” she said.
Under the leadership of Fletcher, NABA is well under its way to reaching its goal of increased membership and service to the community. Members are extremely proud of the org and are appreciative for the countless opportunities NABA provides.
Fourth year member and two time Ernst and Young intern Robert Morgan personally attests to what NABA has done for him.
“I have received countless opportunities and internships in accounting because of the opportunities that I have been exposed to through NABA,” Morgan said. “I look forward to seeing other NABA members be awarded some of the same opportunities.”
You can keep up with all things NABA by following their social media pages:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naba.uga
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nabauga
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