When Michael Kizer made the decision to pursue a different career he chose CPTC's Accounting Program. He hopes to own his own home remodeling business in the future.

‘You Can Go Back to School’

August 12, 2014

“It doesn’t matter what age you are or what background you have, you can go back to school,” Accounting Program student Michael Kizer said. “You can have a better life.”

Kizer’s decision to go back to school after 16 years in the workforce stemmed from a hand injury he sustained in an industrial sander accident. Kizer saw the opportunity to move his life in a different direction and decided to pursue a new career.

After almost two decades at his job, Kizer was promoted to the highest position and income with his level of education.

“A job that had been a good job for years became a dead end job for me,” Kizer said. “I was never going to better myself beyond that point.”

Kizer began doing carpentry in high school by taking woodshop classes. He then began taking classes at a vocational technical school and earned a custom cabinetry degree while still in high school.

Staying true to his love of woodworking and carpentry, Kizer enrolled in the Accounting Program at Clover Park Technical College with the hope of owning his own home remodeling business in the future.

The transition of going back to school posed some difficulties for Kizer. As an incoming student Kizer had limited computer skills and needed to take several general education courses before enrolling in the program.

However, Kizer felt welcomed by the faculty at CPTC and immediately responded to their teaching styles.

Kizer earned his first A+ of his educational career during his first quarter in a psychology course.

“I had a phenomenal teacher who made the class so interesting and fun,” Kizer said.

Students in the Accounting Program complete an internship as part of their degree requirements. Kizer said he hopes to intern at his church where he can do bookkeeping services for free in return for real-life accounting experience.

“I’m learning everything I wanted and needed to know to run a profitable business,” Kizer said.

The Accounting Program at CPTC offers an Accounting Degree and a Bookkeeping Clerk certificate. For more information, visit www.cptc.edu/programs/accounting.

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