"Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself."
By LaJuan Tallo | 4/27/09

A Chinese proverb goes: “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.”  Such is the case for Shani Smith of Southaven.

When Smith was a student at Northwest Mississippi Community College, Leah Arrington, her accounting instructor called her to the side and told her she had a talent for accounting. Arrington encouraged her to consider accounting as a major and sent her to talk to Dr. Marilyn Bateman, the academic dean, who also encouraged her. Smith changed her major and has since completed her associate degree and bachelor’s degree in accountancy through the 2+2 program at Northwest and the University of Mississippi at the DeSoto Center. She is now an accounting professional in Memphis.

She has worked for the past five years at Sedgwick Claims Management Services in Memphis, a business that specializes in claims administration and related cost management services in the areas of workers’ compensation, short and long-term disability, FMLA and other employee absence programs and  general, automobile and professional liability claims. Smith started as a claims assistant and then worked in the Call Center, which allowed her to have flexibility when she was completing her degree. Today she works as an accounts administrator for Sedgwick.

The Batesville native graduated from South Panola High School in 1996 and began her college career at Northwest immediately after graduation. The single mother stayed on campus while her mother kept her two children.

“I made a mistake. I left school after a year without withdrawing from classes, Smith said. She ended up with all F’s and also had to pay back her Financial Aid.

“Sometimes individuals do not realize they have a second chance to get things right after they have somewhat played over their lives. Coming straight to college after high school, I was yet to embrace the importance of an education, nor did I understand the value of an education. It was a lot harder to make a life for oneself after the mess ups, but success is accomplishable,” she said.

She went to work in a local factory and bought a vehicle so that she could come back to school this time as a commuter. She received her Associate of Applied Science Degree in Microcomputer Technology in 2001 but was still not sure it was the right thing for her.

“You know sometimes you take what other people are taking, and you don’t look at all the aspects like where you are going to live or what your income will be if you find a job in a certain field,” Smith said.

Smith decided to pursue another degree in Business and began taking classes at Northwest again. It was while she was majoring in Business that she took classes from Arrington.

“I took classes from Deborah Moore and Leah Arrington. Ms. Moore prepared me for the business world, but Ms. Arrington saw potential in me and allowed me to have faith in myself. Northwest gave me the foundation I needed to succeed at Ole Miss,” Smith said. She flourished in the smaller classes where she got one on one attention, she said.

“I was so fortunate to have Shani as a student.  She came to class prepared and consistently performed well on all of her work,” Arrington said.   “I recognized an aptitude toward accounting in Shani.  I wanted her to know that she possessed the qualities that it takes to earn an accounting degree.  She was able to balance a mix of hard work and natural ability to reach her goals.  I am so very proud of her accomplishments but I knew she could do it!”

One thing Smith likes to do is encourage other young people to pursue their dreams. She has come back to Northwest on occasion to speak to students in the business classes. “My success is a work in progress, but receiving and education has provided me with the necessary tools to reach my goals,” Smith said.

For more information on Northwest’s business or accounting degrees, contact the Business Division at 662-562-3304 or e-mail apayne@northwestms.edu.