• W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship Recipient •

Accounting for Change: One Student’s Desire to Help Others

While attending UA-Rich Mountain, Emily Burtnett took an accounting course and discovered what she wanted to do with her life. She sees that a lack of understanding regarding money, taxes, or even just how to create a manageable budget may frustrate people and leave them with a false sense of “stupidity.” She wants to help them find the order she sees in the numbers.

“I was a first-generation student,” Burtnett, 21, said. “I had already accomplished so much by earning an associate's degree in business, but I wanted to further my education in accounting because this is where I can help others most. I like numbers and the order of accounting, and I want to use my education to educate others. Many in America do not understand financial literacy, which is an important skill to have because our world runs on money.”

Burtnett, a resident of Waldron, lives with her mother and two brothers. Much of her time is spent helping her mother support and raise her siblings as well as assist her grandparents tend their farm, which provides the family with beef and milk. Living in a rural area in a town with a population of less than 3,500 doesn’t offer many in-person opportunities for higher education, so when her maternal aunt advised her to attend an online college, she gave it serious consideration.

“I hadn't really planned to go to college until my aunt and mother pushed me towards it,” Burtnett remembered. “She said, ‘I can see a lot of potential.’ She’s a college advisor; she does that for a living. She said that I would probably benefit from a degree and pushed me towards that. Without my mother and family, I don't think I would have accomplished as much as I have.”

Burtnett’s goal after completing her degree in accounting is to help others understand some things regarding taxes.

“I know that for some it can be a very stressful time, and taxes can get confusing for some,” she said. “I want to help them, whether that is through a major tax service or a local tax company.”

After earning an Associate of Science Business Administration degree from University of Arkansas-Rich Mountain in 2024, Burtnett developed a strong work ethic that has helped boost both her education and her career as a part-time teller in a local bank. She plans to graduate from the U of A in May 2026 with an online Bachelor of Science Business Administration (BSBA) in Accounting. Her goal is to obtain a CPA license and help others by sharing her accounting expertise.

Learning online is not easy, but for some, like Burtnett, it is a more comfortable way of learning than sitting in a structured class environment. For Burtnett, an online student needs to be hardworking, have a determined attitude, be willing to ask for help, and have a decent working computer. All these things make assignments and interactions with others more manageable and allow a student to excel at the U of A.

“Being hardworking and having a determined attitude go hand in hand,” she said. “Being determined will open the door, making assignments easier for a student to accomplish. Having a determined attitude will make life, in general, easier because someone who is determined is less likely to say, ‘I can’t do this,’ or ‘It’s not worth the effort.’ This negative mindset makes completing tasks or assignments very difficult, but if one has a determined attitude, it changes a mindset to ‘I got this’ or ‘It will be hard, but that’s okay.’”

Burtnett found it hard to ask for help with assignments or to schedule meetings with advisors. It took her stressing out about a test in her first semester to realize she could not complete her classes without help, and that meant facing the anxiety she felt. She now understands everyone struggles from time to time and needs help, and that is not a bad thing.

“Needing help understanding a class topic is easily fixed by reaching out to someone willing to assist others,” she said. “I started going to tutoring, and the more I did it, the easier it became to ask for help with anything, not just assignments. It’s an essential skill to have when dealing with a student's life or in the future with a career. This also helps with human connection. Not everyone understands everything, and we need each other so we can share what we do and do not know.”

Another draw for Burtnett to attend the U of A is the quality of the instructors, she said.

“The teachers are amazing. They really work with you, and they are always willing to communicate with you. The teachers that I've had, they've been very nice. And they teach very well. They don't just assign the assignments and expect you to do it. They help you along with it, and they're always open for questions.”

In addition to her instructors, the advisors also play a vital role in Burtnett’s education. When her interest in accounting came to light, her advisor at UA-Rich Mountain directed Burtnett to the online BSBA at the U of A. This online option checked every one of her boxes—convenience, flexibility, availability, affordability, and comfort. In addition, her aunt advised her to search the U of A websites for scholarships and grants to help fund her studies.

As a result, Burtnett is a recipient of the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship for online U of A students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship began with small gifts from many people who passionately believe in the transformative power of education. It was created in 2018 to financially assist students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate online degree programs.

Receiving the scholarship did much to ease Burtnett’s concerns over how to pay her college expenses and made her feel blessed.

“(Receiving the scholarship) helped cover all my tuition so I'm not having to pay any out of pocket for tuition, so that's amazing,” she said. “To complete this degree in accounting and earn a CPA license, I need scholarships to have more financial freedom and focus on my studies.”

Burtnett’s advice for all students is to work hard and pay attention to deadlines.

“Being determined helps fuel someone who is hardworking,” she advised. “Being diligent makes a student’s life easier by knowing when assignments are due so that they can meet deadlines. This skill can be transferred over to a career and everyday life. Also, pay attention to deadlines. That's a big one, because those sneak up on you. You think, ‘Oh, I have plenty of time,’ but then they always just pop up out of nowhere. These skills will help further a student's chances of succeeding at the U of A. As a student, I hold these values and skills necessary to my experience with life, work, and schooling. And if you're somebody who's busy, who has a lot of family commitments, you already have a job and you're wanting to further your education, I feel like online classes are a good way to do it."