Jill Mitchell, an award-winning associate professor of accounting at Northern Virginia Community College, and an adjunct professor at Mason, is graduating from Mason in May with a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. Photo by Lathan Goumas,
Jill Mitchell knows the study of accounting can be intimidating.
There is that old stereotype of someone brooding over a ledger filled with long lines of numbers. And some of her newest students worry about handling the math.
So Mitchell said she tries to open students’ eyes to what accounting actually is.
“We’re not just sitting behind a computer crunching numbers all day,” she said. “It’s more about being able to research, being resourceful. It’s about communication with your client.”
That enthusiasm has helped Mitchell, an associate professor of accounting at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and an adjunct professor at George Mason University, earn several prestigious awards this year.
She received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and was selected for the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, which is given annually to one member of the Virginia Community College System.
She is also graduating from Mason on May 17 with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in instructional design and technology.
“I can say without hesitation that my experience learning from a world-class faculty has made me a more effective instructor,” Mitchell said. “I have learned so much about being a teacher simply by being their student. I only hope I can influence and inspire my students the way they have influenced and encouraged me.”
As for her awards, she said, “I was overwhelmed. I know the quality of instructors and professors that we have in Virginia is incredible. To be selected among them is very humbling.”
Mitchell, who has taught at NOVA since 2008, said she came to Mason for an e-learning graduate certificate but decided to stay for her master’s.
This is the second postgraduate degree for Mitchell, who has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Georgia and a master’s in accounting from the University of Virginia.
Mitchell, whose husband, Sean, MBA ’11, is a Mason alumnus, said she wanted to major in dance at Georgia. But stress fractures in her shins forced a rethink to business. A meeting at a career fair with a representative from Ernst & Young was the entrée for her career, which includes a past presidency of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance.
Her teaching philosophy, she said, is based on core values of honor, opportunity and professionalism.
“I expect my students to conduct themselves honorably,” Mitchell said. “Second, I educate and connect students with people, programs and scholarships to enable them to seize opportunities. Finally, my goal is to provide students with the professional skills that are essential to their success and help them develop into honorable professionals who have a multitude of opportunities in their lives.”
“She’s very dedicated to helping students,” said JK Aier, area chair of accounting in the School of Business. “She has a hardworking and positive approach, and her enthusiasm to make accounting a major students look forward to as a career pathway is outstanding.”
And though Mitchell is graduating, she said she never stops learning.
“What I’m doing works, but there’s constant improvement,” Mitchell said. “You want to give a better experience to your students all the time. I love being able to help students a little further on their journey.”