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Lavon Johnson
Lavon Johnson
01:18

Lavon Johnson

EY

New York City, NY USA

"You can’t let someone else tell you who you’re going to be."

Career Roadmap

Lavon's work combines: Business, Numbers, and Accomplishing Goals

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Day In The Life

FSO Financial and Accounting Advisory Services Senior

I assist clients with complex accounting transactions and system implementation.

My Day to Day

A typical day for me means meeting with my clients for updates on how the projects are going and evaluating if there is anything we could do better. I work with my team to figure out how to meet clients' needs. Some days, I'll take a call internally to learn something new at work.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

Network, network, network! Talk to as many people as possible in the field to get an idea of whether or not this is really something you want to do for a living. Also, by networking, you may meet someone who can help you get into a company you are interested in working for.

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Accounting

    Michigan State University

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Information Technology

    Michigan State University

  • Graduate Degree

    Accounting

    Michigan State University

  • Certification

    Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Growing up wasn’t easy—I grew up in foster care and was never given much guidance on educational or career paths.

  • 2.

    No one wanted to take care of me and my siblings because there were so many of us, so my great-grandmother ended up taking us in.

  • 3.

    When I was in high school I wanted to be a nurse, but my school shut down the nursing course, so my basketball coach pushed the whole team to pursue accounting instead.

  • 4.

    Accounting clicked easily in my head and I was good at it, so I took an accounting internship at a foster care agency and then decided to major in accounting in college.

  • 5.

    I got both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University—I ultimately chose to go to college because I wanted to leave my unstable, difficult past.

  • 6.

    Advisors in NABA (National Association of Black Accountants) and MBS (Multicultural Business Students) gave me the insight and encouragement I needed to become disciplined in this field.

  • 7.

    I found a mentor at Discover EY who helped me get a college internship with Ernst & Young, which then led to a full-time offer—he’s still my mentor to this day.

  • 8.

    I currently work as a senior in the financial services practice at EY and am on track for a promotion to a manager position.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Teachers:

    You're not good enough and you should give up on your dreams.

  • How I responded:

    People told me that I’d be a statistic of my environment growing up and that I would fail and should give up. One of my college advisors even told me that my work so far in school was not up to par and that I should change majors. I've realized that nothing anyone says to me as discouragement is a reflection of who I am or what I am capable of achieving. It is important to not take it personally. I smile and thank those who doubt me for their feedback and I keep pushing towards my goals.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

  • I grew up in foster care and moved from house to house since age four. It was challenging but I was determined to work towards my goals and not become another statistic.

  • Growing up in foster care, money was always an issue. One reason I chose to pursue accounting is because it will always lead to stable jobs no matter how bad the economy is. I practice financial discipline so I’m never struggling financially again.

  • It's easy to fall into the mindset that I'm going to fail because of my past and the nature of my industry, but I work hard to maintain positive self talk. I also go to therapy to help me deal with my past in a healthy way.