Student-Led Effort Builds Career Pipeline

What began as a small, student-led effort to revive a dormant campus organization at Stony Brook University has turned into a pipeline to career opportunities for members of the university’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants.

Temitade Adeyemi, a fourth-year business management and finance major at Stony Brook, said he and a small group of students brought back the chapter last year to expand access to professional connections and mentorship.

“I realized Stony Brook didn’t have a chapter, so I did my research, made a few phone calls and followed the steps to re-establish it,” said Adeyemi, the chapter’s president. “We submitted the paperwork, secured our charter and got registered to operate on campus.”

Zachary Adams, also a fourth-year business management and finance major, said he saw a gap in support for underrepresented students in business and wanted to help create an organization that could connect students to opportunities and professional networks.

“There weren’t enough organizations or support for underrepresented students who are studying business, so we wanted to create something that could connect and grow and provide access to opportunities for those students,” said Adams, the chapter’s chairman.

Creating career access: The National Association of Black Accountants is dedicated to advancing Black professionals in accounting, finance, business and entrepreneurship. With more than 22,000 members nationwide, NABA focuses on engagement, empowerment and education—principles that Adeyemi said are now reflected in the chapter’s revival at Stony Brook.

Kimberly Dixon, director of employer engagement and recruitment strategies at Stony Brook, said the students’ success underscores the impact of creating new access points for professional development, mentorship and industry connections.

“When they heard about the opportunities to connect with professionals as mentors—and, most importantly, with employers that may not typically recruit at Stony Brook—that became the catalyst for them,” Dixon said. “That’s what they wanted, and it’s what pushed them to bring the chapter back.”

Dixon said employer partnerships play a key role in turning a student organization into a consistent recruitment channel—especially for underrepresented students pursuing fields like accounting and finance.

“Those are the people that we want to put in front of our NABA chapter here,” Dixon said. “And now they have a bridge—not just from being part of a student chapter, but a bridge to professionals working at companies they may be interested in. They have common ground, and that professional association can be that bridge.”

Rebuilding the chapter: With support from Stony Brook’s career center, students worked to rebuild the organization from the ground up—hosting interest meetings, recruiting members and establishing a strong presence on campus through events and social media.

Today, the chapter includes eight active members and continues to expand. That sense of community has translated into tangible outcomes: At the national conference, students connected directly with recruiters and leaders from major accounting firms and financial institutions.

The experience resulted in Adeyemi, Adams and the other students who attended securing internships for the summer.

“They had a career fair where we were able to connect with recruiters and try to get jobs and internship opportunities,” said Adams. “Not only that, we were also able to connect with other students from other campuses and learn how they started their chapters and how they were able to grow them into something that’s huge.”

Looking ahead, Adeyemi and Adams said the chapter is eager to welcome more students and continue building momentum.

“My main goal for now is that it continues to thrive after we graduate,” Adeyemi said. “Any internship, any professional opportunity that I have right now is thanks to NABA. This is really a truly helpful organization.”

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