KILLEEN, Texas — Jenifer Dernehl started taking classes at Texas A&M University-Central Texas in August 2022. She's always had an interest in accounting and applying what she learns to the real world, so she joined the data analytics course taught by Dr. Ankita Singhvi.
"I wanted to learn more about how to turn that data into information through analysis techniques to make it more useful," Dernehl shared.
Turns out, Singhvi had that exact idea in mind as well.
Singhvi was approved for a service learning designation for her course in Spring 2022. In the course, she wanted to offer a hands-on experience for her students to apply what they were learning in class to help local non-profits.
"I did not assign them organizations, they found those organizations on their own," Singhvi added. "We're here for service and that's the mission of the school."
Singhvi focused on helping students apply the innovative technology they learned in class to assist organizations that needed help creating graphs and statistics, something hundreds of organizations use to apply for grants.
"We're already doing this in the classroom, so let's apply it outside the classroom way beyond and see if we can really change lives," Singhvi said.
As of Nov. 1, at least 15 Central Texas organizations and animal shelters have seen drastic changes and grant funding after working with students.
One of those organizations is the United Way of Central Texas, the non-profit organization Dernehl chose to work with.
"I told them I could take information from an Excel spreadsheet to visualize it through bar charts and line graphs so that the nonprofit immediately knew 'Okay, this is how you can help us,'" Dernehl explained.
United Way was granted $72,000 in grant funds from Volunteers in Tax Accounting (VITA) after working with Dernehl, and her work has opened the door to more opportunities for them.
"We're able to look for more grants now so I think were going to hopefully continue to use them in the future," United Way Vice-President Daniel Ramos explained.
United Way has been efficiently mobilizing resources to advance the common good in the community since its founding in 1951.
Singhvi hopes more people broaden their understanding of accounting and more students take the chance to see their own potential when the course starts back up in the Spring of 2023.
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