Mary Mikha Zywot, MAcc '21

Mary Mikha Zywot’s interest in affordable housing began with her internship at the Ann Arbor Housing Commission while an economics student at the University of Michigan. Mary had been inspired to pursue the internship after observing the effects of lack of adequate affordable student housing in Ann Arbor. 

“It was not something that I had ever thought about before. I would have classmates having to commute from a fair amount of distance because they couldn’t afford to live in Ann Arbor. I began that internship and learned how important it was for the Ann Arbor community to have these subsidized housing options for people of lower income.”

Mary saw the potential of what affordable housing in communities could do. She says she realized that when people don't have to worry about where they are going to live or if they can find a safe environment to live, they can focus on other areas of their lives, like financial stability and education.  

Affordable housing frees people up to focus on their goals, and it is important to me to use my accounting skills in ways that empower my community.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2017, Mary began working at Samaritas, the third largest not-for-profit company in the state of Michigan. She worked full time for three years before entering the Michigan Ross Master of Accounting Program in 2020. Mary continued working at Samaritas while earning her master's degree and is currently a senior accountant there.

While an undergrad, Mary had decided to complement her economics background and expand her understanding of how the market worked by taking undergraduate accounting courses at Michigan Ross. That accounting knowledge proved useful when she first began at Samaritas, and after a few years, Mary saw the potential to learn even more through a master of accounting degree from Ross.

When applying to the program, Mary wrote her admissions essay about all of the things she discovered in her undergraduate classes that make her excited about accounting, like reading a financial statement and being able to create a narrative for stakeholders. 

“I actually did not look at any other programs; Ross was my number one and only. If this admissions cycle didn’t end up going my way, I would just have applied again the next year. That’s how much it meant to me. I know the Michigan Difference; I experienced it firsthand and I was really looking forward to going back to Michigan.”

Mary said that the Ross accounting professors were a main reason she wanted to continue to study accounting post-grad, noting how they applied accounting principles to real-life situations. 

I think it made the difference that our professors were really experienced in their field and so many of them were also researchers, so it was a perfect combination of accounting principles and real-world examples of how these principles fleshed out. We could then create our own opinions about the things that were going on in the accounting profession and industry overall.

The EY Accounting and Public Policy Symposium, which all MAcc students attend, was one aspect of the program Mary was particularly excited about. It ended up being a highlight of her Ross experience. 

“The EY Symposium really opened my eyes to how federal regulation and policies are so far-reaching. Public policy really influences affordable housing, of course, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Now, Mary regularly keeps up with U.S. HUD developments because of its direct relevance to her work. Mary says she also gained a heightened respect for journalism from the EY Symposium and noted the significance of journalism in accounting.

“I don’t think that the average person knows just how complex our government is, and journalists translate that and tell you why you should care, while still remaining objective. Listening to the speakers in journalism helped me develop my own ideas about why people should care about what we’re doing, even if they aren’t accountants.”

Mary's work experience prior to starting the MAcc program gave her a unique perspective about the relevance of the coursework in the real world. She says the focus on understanding data analytics and technology at Ross was particularly relevant given how her industry is increasingly leveraging technology -- she says this focus also made her a more competitive player in the workforce. 

“We were encouraged from the beginning to take more classes on data analytics. I worked before starting at Ross, and I can tell you that the things we learned with project management and in particular Excel are so important in my current position.”

Mary’s advice for anyone considering the MAcc program? 

“Don’t be afraid to apply, even if you’re a nontraditional student like myself. Whether it’s through our professors, the one-year master's student success advisors, or the career coaches, everyone is there with the common goal of helping you succeed.”