| | | | | Faculty Spotlight: Rebecca Hasselblad
We are excited to welcome Rebecca Hasselblad as one of our newest accounting faculty!
With over three decades of experience in accounting, Professor Hasselblad has a bachelor’s in Business Accounting from Bethel University and a master’s of Accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato, as well as a graduate certification in taxation. Since then, her career has taken her to being a Financial Manager at Bethany Academy, Accounting Manager at Bethany Press International, and the Manager for U.S. Accounting Operations with Katun Corporation.
In 2018, she began working as the Senior Manager of UNW’s Academic Operations, with plans to teach adjunct. However, when the full-time role opened, she felt God leading her to apply, and having enjoyed both working at UNW and the opportunities she’s had to teach and train people, she prayed on the decision and followed the path God was putting before her. Now, she’s able to combine her passion for teaching and Christian education.
“I believe that training, mentoring, and discipling young people is so important for them and for the future of the church, community and culture. I hope to share what God has taught me along the way.”
Beyond teaching, Professor Hasselblad loves spending time antiquing, decorating, and camping in Creation, in addition to traveling and, along the way, stopping at her favorite ice cream store, Kilwin’s. |
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| | | Faculty Spotlight: Alison Wilde
We are thrilled to welcome Alison Wilde to teach Intermediate Accounting II!
Professor Wilde studied Accounting at the University of North Dakota, and through members of her church, friends, and several family members (including her alumni husband), she heard about UNW’s rigorous curriculum and culture of spiritual development. This made UNW the first place she looked to teach as an adjunct, a position that combines her love of people, presenting, and accounting.
To teaching, she brings a unique perspective and diverse range of experiences, having worked for a Big Four firm, churches and ministries, and as a consultant. Beyond her current accounting consultant role at Brillect, she has a decade of experience as an auditor at Deloitte and as a financial analyst at Medtronic.
“Accounting has a bad reputation for being boring, isolating, and leading to a burn-out career. This does not need to be the case! I look forward to equipping and encouraging accounting students as they enter a great career field.”
Outside of the classroom, Professor Wilde enjoys baking for her family and finding creative ways to modify recipes for her son’s food allergies. |
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| | | Bringing Entrepreneurship to the Classroom |
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| It’s rare in higher education for a course to be hands-on focused. It’s rarer still those students get to combine all the areas of business—from accounting to marketing to strategy—in one class. In Introduction to Entrepreneurship, students get both, building a business along the way.
Throughout the course, students create a business plan, incorporating marketing research and identifying all the key areas of a business plan.
Drawing on her own experience founding Arthur-Rose senior care, Dr. Jessa Nelson walks students through all the steps of the SCORE business plan template, from marketing to the legal side of entrepreneurship. By the end of the quad, students have performed market research, developed projected financial statements, and prepared a pitch deck—all arranged as though they were to present to a bank or another financier.
Students have the chance to follow in the footsteps of other UNW entrepreneurs. Jonathan Anderstrom (Management Information Systems, ’02) started his path as an entrepreneur by building expertise in his field before launching his own businesses—Creed Interactive, a web design company, and Anderstrom Property.
As Jonathan explained of his path, “I was blessed to start my entrepreneurial journey at a young age when my personal expenses were low and I had plenty of time and room to make mistakes. So, start young.” |
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| | For current students, having the opportunity to plan a business in a low-stakes environment lets them consider how being an entrepreneur would fit with their goals. In the course, students consider their “non-negotiables”—areas of their lives that their business must be flexible to incorporate, such as their family life. Alongside this, students think through the pros and cons of the entrepreneurship lifestyle, from flexibility to working odd hours.
Shannon Tacheny (Communications with Marketing emphasis and Graphic Design minor ’00) has found that her family can be the priority with the flexibility her business has afforded her. Like Jonathan, Shannon began her path toward entrepreneurship early. By the end of her time at UNW, she was operating a part-time photography business and had dreams of starting another business. After UNW, even while continuing these endeavors, she took a traditional job because it seemed the normal path to pursue.
It was only after graduation as she worked on her design portfolio and began working for a small business that she realized entrepreneurship was a viable option. From there, she began her own business, Feather Blue Studios, which provides strategic brand and marketing coaching as well as creative services for female small-business entrepreneurs.
As Shannon found, entrepreneurship isn’t a career pathway with a clear open door—or one that students have the ability to explore hands-on in the classroom. She said, “I’d … recommend [students] just start trying things, starting small businesses of various kinds, without fear of failure (because failure is important for growth!).” |
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| | Upon finishing the entrepreneurship course, students have a plan in-hand and ready to execute if it’s the path God calls them on.
“As a business owner, it can be a lonely and difficult journey,” said Jonathan. “When times are hard, having a stable faith to rely on gives me a confidence that I would not otherwise have. And, as I have the opportunity to be generous with those in my life, God has faithfully rewarded me in all areas of my life.” |
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