Mike Bucci ’15

Mike Bucci arrived on the Hill knowing without a doubt that he would pursue accounting, business, and economics, but it took the next four years – and a diversity of courses and the support of faculty with professional experience – for him to decide what he would do with his triple major in Accounting Economics, Economics, and Business Administration.

Today the 2015 graduate has his C.P.A. and is an assurance manager with RSM, focusing on clients in the federal government contracting, industrials, and consumer products industries.

“We strive to be an advisor to clients, not just provide an audit,” says Bucci. “When I’m able to find solutions for our clients that help them run their business more effectively or even when I have a small suggestion as part of an audit that just saves someone a few minutes in their day, I find that to be rewarding.”

It’s the perfect fit – one that his professors and coursework helped him find. “One of the great things about McDaniel, particularly the business department, is that every faculty member has a different background and brings unique experiences, perspectives, and insights,” he says. “Some have always been in academia, while many have had years of experience in business before transitioning to academia.”

“One of the great things about McDaniel, particularly the business department, is that every faculty member has a different background and brings unique experiences, perspectives, and insights.”

In addition to walking away with lessons learned from professors with many combined years of experience in widely different areas, students benefit from personal attention in the close-knit department.

“I felt like I didn’t have just one faculty mentor – I felt like I had an entire department of faculty mentors,” Bucci says, explaining that they all want to see students succeed. “That doesn’t end in the classroom but extends to guiding you through your academic career and figuring out what your post-academic career might look like.” Now Bucci is still being mentored but also has moved into the role of mentor, an aspect of his career at RSM that he relishes. RSM has a formal career advisor program that gives everyone in the firm a career advisor. Plus there is on-the-job training which creates mentor-mentee relationships within departments.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is seeing our staff take what they’ve learned from past experience, both technical and soft skills, and apply that to future projects, interactions, or relationships,” says Bucci, who is currently serving as a career advisor to three professionals all in the first two years of their careers. “I’ve been very fortunate to have some terrific mentors thus far in my career, and being able to pass some of the lessons I’ve learned on to the newer staff is very rewarding.”

Although meeting his wife Danielle DeColli Bucci ‘14 is the number-one highlight of Bucci’s years on the Hill, he says that he could not have imagined the impact the diversity of the experiences and opportunities he encountered would have on his life and career. When in school, Bucci wasn’t terribly excited about English, arts, and other classes required by the McDaniel Plan.

“But now I’ve realized that all of those experiences are part of what has shaped me into the person and professional I am today,” he says, explaining that the exposure provides a base for relating to and finding commonalities with people professionally and personally. “But also, these diverse experiences have exposed me to many different ways of thinking that helps me understand different perspectives and also to think critically.”

The Hill is a place, Bucci says, where friendships and relationships flourish, only to remain forever a part of professional and personal lives. While responsibilities – academic, athletic, financial, personal – come first, Bucci believes it’s important not to take yourself too seriously during college.

“Enjoy college and make sure you don’t miss out on the fun of it,” he says. “You don’t realize until later how much freedom you have in college, so make sure you slow down and enjoy it.”