Success Through Connections: Priscilla Babaa’s Journey from Campus to Corporate Success

When Priscilla Babaa started her academic journey at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Fall of 2018, little did she know that then-fellow student Kate Wallace and her accounting professor, Dr. Robert Rankin, would play a crucial role in securing her position at BHLF LLP – a comprehensive tax and public accounting firm based in California. Today, Babaa serves as a Staff Auditor/Staff Accountant at BHLF LLP, where she primarily focuses on audits and reviews.

It all started in a Walmart parking lot when Babaa ran into her accounting professor, Dr. Rankin. At the time, she was living in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and was in talks with a recruiter about an auditing position. It was then that Rankin connected Babaa with another College of Business Alumni, Kate Wallace, who offered to pass along her resume to the partners of the firm where they now work together.

Crediting her connections and networking with her professor and fellow alumnus, Babaa encourages current and prospective students to “make connections and get to know your professors and classmates. There are so many people around you, and they are all doing incredible things. I learned so much from my professors during class time, but I found a real love for college and my career during the conversations I had outside of the classroom.”

Babaa graduated from A&M-Commerce in Spring 2022 with a bachelor’s in Accounting and a minor in Finance. She credits choosing the College of Business at A&M-Commerce primarily due to the professors’ extensive experience in the accounting and finance industries across several industries. “It was encouraging to be taught by professors who also worked in the industries I was interested in,” Babaa said.

She went on to credit the Accounting and Finance Department for helping her forge impactful connections through events, workshops, activation, and networking mixers.

“The College of Business provided me with the opportunity to start building my resume before I even graduated,” Babaa said. “There are so many great professors in the COB and the Accounting Department, and I consider myself very fortunate to know a few of them.”

In addition to Dr. Rankin, she also mentioned Terry Brawand and Dr. Jared Pickens for having a profound impact on her. Additionally, she thanked Dr. Caroline Hartmann, who worked alongside her to guide her throughout her honors thesis, saying: “I am incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful community that helped build the person I am today.”

Reflecting on her life, Babaa considers being part of a military family a blessing. Her dad taught her the principle of “service before self” while her mom became her superhero as she took her and her brother to all their activities while making sure she provided for them as her father was serving overseas. Today, Babaa is happily married to an “amazing football coach” who she considers one of her “greatest joys in life.”