In Spring 2022, Nathan Jones graduated summa cum laude from Anderson University with a double major in Accounting and Finance. During his time at AU, Jones distinguished himself not only academically, but also as a student leader, serving as Student Government president during his senior year, providing extraordinary leadership as Anderson University was navigating health protocols in the wake of a major pandemic as part of the COVID-19 Task Force.
His graduation from Anderson, however, was only the beginning of the story.
Following his undergraduate studies, Jones continued his education at another university, where he earned a master of science in accountancy. Jones subsequently completed the CPA examination process and today he’s putting his Anderson University education into practice professionally as an audit senior with Elliott Davis, a leading accounting firm in the Southeastern United States.
In 2025 a couple of Anderson University professors reached out to Jones about teaching an Introduction to Financial Accounting Course. In the fall of that year, Jones returned to Anderson University as a part-time adjunct faculty member in the College of Business and Economics, teaching accounting to an evening class of AU students.
“It felt very full circle to return to Anderson to teach the exact same course that I took as a freshman,” said Jones, pointing out that this was the class that influenced him to pursue an accounting career.
Just a few years after sitting in Anderson accounting classrooms himself, Jones found himself standing in front of a classroom of students.
“At work I’ve always enjoyed helping interns and first year associates, and have identified training and development as something that is life giving to me, and something that God has gifted me with,” he said. “It brings me a lot of joy.”
On his first day of class, Jones didn’t quite know what to expect.
“Within the first few minutes, it all felt very natural,” he said. “I know the material like the back of my hand, and so it was really life-giving to teach it, knowing that this class was something that changed the trajectory of my career and my major at Anderson.”
Helping students who are struggling in the course and seeing them grasp accounting concepts and pass the class gives Jones a feeling of accomplishment. Jones understands that accounting is a required course for business majors, whether they are studying accounting, finance, human resources, marketing or something else. He felt especially gratified when some students chose to major in accounting as a result of the class—just as he did a few years before.
Jones’ story provides an opportunity to celebrate the Anderson University pillars of Great Academics and Great Purpose. It demonstrates the professional success of an Anderson graduate, the strength of the University’s Accounting and Finance programs, the connection between undergraduate education and professional qualification, and the lasting relationship that can develop between students and the University.
Most importantly, it is a story of an alumnus returning to invest in the community that helped prepare him for his own career.
Jones feels his education at Anderson not only prepared him to be an accountant, but gave him a comprehensive education.
“The accounting classes are integral to my job,” he said, “but there are also classes that made me a more well-rounded student. I took finance classes that helped me understand investing in the market. I took political science classes that helped me understand policy making—what’s going on at the government level. I took music classes and English classes that have helped me become a well-rounded person. It’s difficult to think of a class of Anderson where there isn’t some sort of takeaway that has helped me in my professional and personal life.”
Jones wants to be there for his students in the same way his professors were there for him at Anderson.
“There were times, because of the pandemic hitting in the middle of my college years, or if I was going through a difficult time personally while I was in college, I had professors who would check in on me or were willing to sit with me one-on-one and talk through a test that was coming up or an assignment or just career aspirations, because even upon graduating, I wasn’t fully sure what I wanted to do career-wise,” he said. “I try to do that in my own class. I try to not just teach theory. I try to show how what I’m teaching is applicable and compare it to real life situations and real life companies, bringing in news articles or talk through how current events are affecting the world of business.”
Jones noted that a few Anderson University students completed internships at Elliott Davis, and a few graduates have gone to work for the firm fulltime.
“I’ve been able to get more involved in training and development at work with associates and interns, and so that’s tied in really well with teaching at Anderson, using the same part of my brain. It’s been really life-giving,” he said.