LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Paul Brester was nominated by an anonymous student.

"During my sophomore and junior year, when I would go to family events, they would ask me, 'What do you want to do after high school?' I had no clue what I wanted to do, so it stressed me out. Once every month, we would do the Xello survey, a 100-question survey to find the right fit for you to find your job. I would spend 40 minutes doing the surveys, and all the results I got were zookeeper. I said, 'I do not want to feed a Lion and get eaten myself,' but I remember my mom saying, 'Don't worry about it. If you find something you like, it will come to you,'" said the student.

"During the first week of my junior year in Mr. Brester's Class, all I heard was, 'Debits on the left, credits on the right.' I remember we did a Monopoly game to start it off. We would put all the accounts we use, write them down on paper, calculate the number, and see if the debits and credits were equal, and they were," said the student.

"My numbers did not equal the answer key with some of my assignments. Mr. Brester told me if I put the right accounts in. I kept making small mistakes, but it was so satisfying when I got everything to equal the same thing as the spreadsheet," said the student.

"In February, when we chose classes, he told us, 'You guys should take college accounting. You will get college credit.' I asked him, 'How hard is the class.' He told me, 'It's not any harder than this one; it's just more in-depth.' Two days go past of me thinking about it. Was he serious about his class being the same difficulty, or was he lying? I believed him and took the class," said the student.

"In May, I'm still thinking about what career I should pursue. Then I think, 'What classes do I enjoy at Arrowhead?' The first thing that pops into my head is accounting. Then I look more into accounting, and the pay is really good, and accountants are in demand right now," said the student.

"In September, all the work Mr. Brester gives me is just as easy as the other class, except for more depth, like he said. I asked Mr. Brester if I should major or minor in accounting, and he said, 'If you major in accounting, then you can have more opportunities.' That has stuck with me ever since. At the next family event, they asked me, 'What do you want to do when you're older?' I can finally answer the question. I want to be an accountant," said the student.