Renee Wachter, Dean of the Business and Accountancy Department at Truman State University, believes that Truman's business and accountancy programs are among the best in the country—and she has the data to prove it. 99% of Truman B&A students are employed or accepted to graduate programs upon graduation. In addition, Truman is often in the top ten nationally for the number of students it produces who pass all parts of the CPA exam on their first try.

Wachter also identifies four key distinctions of Truman's business and accounting programs that separate it from other business schools:

1. We start higher so students go further
   Truman students regularly report that they find they are using the same textbooks in graduate school as they used in their undergraduate courses—and not just in ordinary graduate schools, but top schools such as Columbia and the University of Chicago.



2. We encourage our faculty to not only be teachers, but mentors
   Students are more likely to succeed and become energized academically if they are connected with faculty members. At Truman, often students become involved with faculty research and present and publish their research while still undergraduates.



3. We refine skills useful for a lifetime
   The Business programs are designed to sharpen fundamental skills—written and oral communication, critical thinking, and quantitative analysis. It is these talents that students carry with them as they leave the university, lasting long after they have forgotten the details of a particular course.



4. We create "Versatilists"
   Truman students are encouraged to pursue multiple major areas of study—either inside or out of business. At graduation, the students are "versatilists"—they have acquired more depth than a generalist and more breadth than a specialist—capabilities particularly attractive to employers.

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Corrine Brinkerhoff, 2002 Truman graduate, never could have foreseen that she would make such an extreme-lateral move after graduation—from Missouri all the way to California. But, with a few helpful detours along the way, Corrine found herself smack dab in the middle of where she'd wanted to be all along: using her writing skills and creativity to write screenplays for television. Now, as a staff writer for the television show Boston Legal, she can attribute her early success to key events that occurred while she was a Truman undergrad.

Corrine was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, and decided to attend Truman even though she had hoped to break out of the Midwest because, as she says, she was "offered a fantastic scholarship I couldn't turn down."

While at Truman, she wrote her first play about a girl who works at an ice cream shop. Thinking she might need to broaden her horizons, she spent a semester in London. They were "the highlight of my college years," Brinkerhoff says. She studied British literature, but says her "real education was exploring Europe during weekends and breaks. Finally, I was thinking outside the Central Time Zone box."

Then, Corrine had a paradigm-shifting experience while taking a class on TV Production: Corrine realized television writing was her thing. So, after graduation, she got a master's at Boston University and made the move to LA. She landed an unpaid internship with David E. Kelley Productions and eventually worked her way into a paid position. Then, she wrote a script for an episode of Boston Legal and, with some trepidation, gave it to David, hoping only for feedback at best. It turned out he not only liked the script, but he also thought it was good enough to use.

Corrine remembers feeling like her success was a dream. She states, "You know those very vivid dreams where you're completely convinced it's real until your alarm goes off? That's what I was afraid was happening for those first 48 hours—I was just bracing myself for the alarm and the subsequent disappointment of waking up."

"When I went down to the set and watched Candice Bergen deliver a closing argument I had written, that finally made it real."

That episode, which aired in February 2006, was the first of many shows Corrine has written.

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Most towns of 17,000 people are not seen as entertainment hotspots. Big-name musical acts, comedians, and speakers usually stick to performing in much larger cities. But Kirksville, MO, is different.

Truman State University's Student Activities Board brought alternative rock groups Dashboard Confessional and Brand New to Pershing Arena on November 3, 2006. Junior Bonnie Treichel, concert chair for SAB, detailed the student-led process that brought such big-name entertainment to campus.

"We contacted an agent to get a long list of bands that might be able to perform at Truman in the fall," she said. "After reviewing the list, the committee put together an online survey that nearly 2,000 Truman students participated in. The results were compiled, and the committee gathered information and reviews from other colleges that had also hosted concerts: Dashboard Confessional seemed to be the best fit for Truman."

And the concert was a success, with almost 2,300 people packing Pershing Arena. Sophomore Mark Petersma called Dashboard Confessional "an extremely popular band who put on a good show," but he was more excited for the opening act. "Brand New is one of my favorite bands; I only wish they could have played longer," he said.

A group of 20 lucky Truman students got to meet the members of both bands immediately following the concert through a promotion put on by the Student Activities Board. "Students were able to get autographs and spend nearly an hour visiting with Dashboard Confessional's lead singer, Chris Caraba," Treichel said.

This is just one of the many big-name events that Truman hosts on a regular basis. Through the Kohlenberg Lyceum Series, the Student Activities Board, and individual campus organizations, such events and speakers as the Vienna Choir Boys, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery Channel's hit show Mythbusters, Patch Adams, Lewis Black, Cake, Yellowcard, and the Massive Monkees Breakdancing Tour have all appeared in Kirksville.

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They stopped wearing the same outfits years ago to show the world they were individuals. Now twins Bernie and Bridgette are demonstrating their uniqueness once again by attending different universities. Come to find out, the universities they each chose—Bernie elected Truman and Bridgette opted for Bradley—are a reflection of their night-and-day identities. Here are the criteria both girls considered—and why Truman was a perfect fit for one twin.

Financial Package
Bernie is a value-seeker who wanted to get the most out of her education and her dollar. Truman offered her a very generous scholarship, which meant she wouldn't be over-her-head in debt once she graduated. While Bradley offered Bridgette financial aid, it was not as significant as the Truman package.

Academics
Bernie has called home more than once to tell her aunt, "I'm not complaining, but there sure is a lot of work." Bernie, who knew Truman's reputation as the "Harvard of the Midwest", expected an enormous workload—and continues to thrive as she studies for a degree in Marketing.

Location
When the choice came down to Truman or Bradley, Bridgette chose Bradley because it's close to a major metropolitan area. A socialite, she wanted to be in the midst of everything. Bernie was more concerned about feeling comfortable in her environment. When she visited Truman, she told her aunt, "I think I can fit in here. It has a homey feel." Within the first month, Bernie was calling Truman her "home away from home".

Preparation for Real World
Timid when she entered Truman, Bernie is now poised, able to express her opinions and make friends without hesitation. Interning at a marketing firm over the summer (an experience she expects will lead to a job after college) also gave her confidence—and a competitive edge.

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