Grand Valley State University
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    Academic Excellence
    300+ Areas of Study A Well-Rounded Education Passionate Faculty Our Honor's Advantage Support Beyond the Classroom The Connected Courses Program The Combined Degree Program
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      Grand Valley State University
      Home

      Academic Excellence

      300+ Areas of Study A Well-Rounded Education Passionate Faculty Our Honor's Advantage Support Beyond the Classroom The Connected Courses Program The Combined Degree Program

      Beyond Expectations

      Real-World Experience Real Research: Real Impact Study Abroad Sustainability State-Of-The-Art Facilities

      Campus Life

      Living On Campus An Inclusive Community 400+ Student Organizations DII Athletics Dominance Laker Marching Band

      "My Laker Effect" Stories

      Student Spotlight: Ayah Ayesh Alumni Spotlight: Joe Gibson Faculty Spotlight: Alli Metz Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Patterson

      Virtual Tour

      Main Campus Pew Grand Rapids Health Campus
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      Student Spotlight: Ayah Ayesh
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      Kevin Patterson

      “The students that come out of Grand Valley are very prepared. They know what they’re doing, and from an accounting perspective they’re ready.”

      Kevin Patterson, Class of 2004 (B.S.), Class of 2005 (M.S.A.), Accounting Audit Partner, BDO Seidman

      I feel like Grand Valley has a certain culture. It was just a family atmosphere. We're at BDO Seidman. We're right downtown. One of our founding members of BDO was Bill Seaman, and he helped start Grand Valley. We currently have about 200 employees, actually about half of them are from Grand Valley-- Grand Valley grads. And we've had tremendous number of students that either come in as interns and then stay until they move up through the ranks like myself and make partner, or just come in and stay for a little bit and then move on to other companies in town. The caliber of the classroom experience is based on the level the professors here Grand Valley, I felt like was actually world class. So I do feel like the students that come out of Grand Valley are very prepared. They know what they're doing, and from an accounting perspective, they're ready. So normally it takes about 15 years to make partner in mid-teir firm. I was able to do it in 11, and I felt like a lot of that success and speed with moving up came from the experiences I had at Grand Valley and the network I built. I'm Kevin Patterson. I'm an audit partner at BDO Seidman, and my Laker effect is giving back to the community.

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      Student Spotlight: Ayah Ayesh
      Alumni Spotlight: Joe Gibson
      Faculty Spotlight: Alli Metz
      Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Patterson
      © 2023 All GVSU photos were taken responsibly and safely since Covid-19.
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