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William Peace University’s Michelle Wang spent nine years in corporate America.
But even when working for Credit Suisse, a global financial service firm, she had her sights set on entering the classroom and influencing the next generation of business leaders.
It just so happens she gets to do it at her alma mater—the icing on the cake.
“It’s wonderful to be back as a faculty member,” Wang said. “Being a student, I love the small classes, getting to know and supporting students. It’s been excellent to be back. It’s a special sort of pride.”
Wang, an assistant Professor of Business Administration, served many roles while at Credit Suisse, from being an Operations Analyst to a Financial Analyst in product control.
During that time, she also earned her Master’s in Business Administration, the first step toward her ultimate goal of teaching.
“I always wanted to teach,” Wang said. “I started as an adjunct [at WakeTech] and just fell in love with teaching.”
Wang fell in love with working with students, getting to know them, coaching the students through the business process. The small classroom size at William Peace allows Wang the time to invest fully in their futures.
In addition to her teaching duties, she is also the DECA Advisor. Her eyes lit up when she talked about the opportunities that DECA has provided for the students at William Peace University.
That passion that oozed from Wang while talking about students isn’t lost on the ones who sit in her classroom daily.
“She was always willing to take time out of her day to come and help me with specific stuff,” said Peace senior Alyssa Poteat. “On top of that, she was very educated on all the concepts, so she could teach it in a way where beginners could understand.”
CASE STUDIES WITH IMMERSIVE LEARNING
With her marketing and accounting classes, Wang has started a series of projects that go along with the values of Immersive Learning at William Peace University.
Students in accounting classes are learning the principles of accounting. Their project is to find a company, research it, and learn how it contributed to and changed the accounting field. The students can pick any company to talk about.
In another class, they studied ethics in accounting, researched scandals, and discussed how companies didn’t follow accounting guidelines. She got the students thinking like managers by asking them to explain what they would have done differently.
“This gives students an opportunity to really see accounting and how it fits into the larger world, how it fits into the business world,” Wang said.
The marketing class picks a small business and creates a marketing plan for the local business. They identify a target market, and they identify marketing activities with a fake budget of $10,000 they get to spend.
“I like them thinking of it from the real-world perspective,” Wang said. “I like them to think about how accounting fits into business organizations and what role accounting plays.”
REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE
The real-world experience translates and makes the classroom part easier for Wang.
“I have no shortage of stories and examples,” Wang said with a laugh. “I like to share my experiences and how they applied, give real-world examples.”
Wang has also found case studies to be a helpful tool for her students.
“She really just made sure to teach the why,” Poteat said. ‘Why we are learning about accounting.”
The ability to use those examples has made the students feel prepared when they leave William Peace University.
“I have found that Professor Wang does everything in her power as an instructor to set students up for success,” said Peace student and DECA President TJ Hill-Johnson said. “The focus extends beyond the classroom and can be applied to different life aspects.”
