{"189611":{"#nid":"189611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Turner Shows Accountants \u2018Can Be Interesting\u2019","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe desire to understand her boyfriend\u2019s career field is what motivated Debby Turner to take her first accounting course. Little did she know that what started as a whim would evolve into a career. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI had just started dating the man who would become my husband, and he was a CPA,\u201d said Turner, who is the John and Wendi Wells Associate Professor for Teaching Excellence in the College of Business. \u201cI was a math education major at the time but decided to enroll in an accounting course to see what being a CPA was all about.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurner\u2019s professor for the class was a charismatic man who shared stories of how he would regularly fly to Las Vegas for gambling trips. He opened Turner\u2019s eyes to something she hadn\u2019t previously been aware of. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI realized that maybe accountants weren\u2019t all boring, unsocial people,\u201d she said. \u201cThis professor made me realize that accountants can be interesting \u2014 and that I wanted to be one.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver her 28 years as an accounting professor at Tech, Turner has made it her mission to nudge students toward a similar realization. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany undergraduate students come into my classroom thinking that accounting is boring,\u201d Turner said. \u201cMy goal is for them to leave at the end of the semester either loving it or at least understanding it\u2019s important.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Turner and her time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be when you were a child?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI always thought I\u2019d grow up to be a schoolteacher. During the summer, I would hold class with the neighborhood kids, and we\u2019d do math and English.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you arrive at Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI worked in public accounting for about four years and then decided that I wanted to go to law school. But a former professor talked me into pursuing a PhD and becoming a professor. I ended up earning all of my degrees from Georgia State University and my first job was at Tech. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDescribe an average day in your job.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo nights a week I teach in the evening MBA program. I love this part of my job, because many of the evening students are professionals who have come back to school and are here to get their money\u2019s worth (which means they are really engaged in the coursework). Throughout the week, I also teach courses to undergraduate students and am responsible for encouraging teaching excellence in the college. For example, I teach a seminar to PhD students on best practices in teaching and hold brown bags for faculty members on teaching strategies. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you keep students engaged?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI believe in the value of anecdotes when it comes to helping students personally identify with topics. So I\u2019m always sharing stories that stem from the work I\u2019ve done with companies throughout my career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most satisfying part of your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI love it when students have been offered their first job and are so excited. I also love hearing from them years after they\u2019ve left Tech. I recently had a student, who now works with Home Depot, contact me to say that he was able to apply an example that I\u2019d used in class \u2014 which happened to involve Home Depot \u2014 in his job years later. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you think about the increasing popularity of massive open online courses (MOOCs)?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI like the fact that these courses allow knowledge to be shared widely. However, I worry about the lack of face-to-face contact. But I\u2019d be willing to teach one to see what it\u2019s like. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like the area around the Campanile. When students are sitting around chatting and studying, it\u2019s such a vibrant scene that reminds me I\u2019m on a university campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt would be Moe\u2019s, and I order the Joey Junior burrito.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019ve either been a Girl Scout or Girl Scout Leader for much of my life \u2014 12 years as a scout and 11 years working with my daughter\u2019s troop.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe desire to understand her boyfriend\u2019s career field is what motivated Debby Turner to take her first accounting course. Little did she know that what started as a whim would evolve into a career.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The desire to understand her boyfriend\u2019s career field is what motivated Debby Turner to take her first accounting course."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-02-04 16:23:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:33","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"189491":{"id":"189491","type":"image","title":"Debby Turner","body":null,"created":"1449179848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:57:28","changed":"1475894838","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:18","alt":"Debby Turner","file":{"fid":"196233","name":"debby.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/debby_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/debby_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":990321,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/debby_0.jpg?itok=elDmjPg3"}}},"media_ids":["189491"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"35511","name":"College of Business"},{"id":"57711","name":"Debby Turner"},{"id":"57721","name":"John and Wendi Wells Associate Professor for Teaching Excellence"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}