Nicholas Clarino, an accounting major at Mount Saint Mary College, is one of several students spending their semester giving back through the Tax-Aide program. By providing free tax preparation for middle- and low-income families, these student-volunteers gain real-world experience while helping their neighbors navigate the complexities of the tax season.
We caught up with Nicholas to discuss his motivation for volunteering, how the experience connects to his professional goals, and the mentors who have supported his journey at the Mount.
Why did you volunteer for Tax-Aide?
It’s very career-focused for me as an Accounting major. [I like] being able to put my knowledge of what I learned to the test. It also does a great job of building career experience not only for an accountant, but any business professional looking to build up their résumé. However…one of the most important reasons is helping out the community by giving people free returns. Professional or not, it always feels great to give back to the community, and just simply help people with their issues they might not be able to handle alone.
How will it help you in your classes and in your future career?
As an accounting major, tax preparation is one of the key components in getting your CPA license; not only knowing tax law, but learning how to apply it on a case to case basis is crucial in becoming a CPA. Tax-aide is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in the tax preparation and consulting field. Not only actually doing it, but the access you get to the experienced tax preparers who are more than happy to pass their knowledge on to everybody.
What’s the most rewarding thing about volunteering for Tax-Aide?
The most rewarding part about Tax-Aide is dealing with the clients that walk through. As you could imagine, people are thrilled to get a cost-free tax return and keep their entire refund if they get one. Every single client that I have seen has been more than grateful for our services. I think another rewarding part of Tax-Aide is interaction with the other tax preparers, specifically the more seasoned ones. You always learn something new and interesting with their conversations with them.
What professors have helped you the most at the Mount, and how?
If I were to fully flesh out this question, I would take up the entire page! There have been many professors that have helped me at the Mount; not only from the School of Business, but from other departments such as Mathematics and Social Sciences. The two that stand out the most to me are Dr. Watad and Dr. Fox. Dr. Watad is a CPA who is an Accounting professor. While also being my advisor, she’s the one who introduced me to Tax-Aide in the first place. Outside of that, she has been of great help to me not only in the classroom, but with outside advice and guidance. Dr. Fox is the Acting Dean of the School of Business and teaches many classes here at the Mount. The times I’ve needed him, he did not hesitate to reach out and assist me. Not only that, but the classes I’ve had with him were a pleasure, and I can tell that he really enjoys his job. It’s inspiring how much he cares about sharing his knowledge with students.
Anything else you want the community to know?
I just wanted to say a thank you to Tax-Aide and Mount Saint Mary College. I am a big believer that you are only as good as your support system. As far as that saying goes, both of those organizations have done more than enough to help me succeed in my future career. Thank you so much!