Yutaka Yanase

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in accounting from UVSC in April, Yutaka Yanase is headed to Lexington, KY., to pursue a career with Price Waterhouse Coopers, one of the top-four certified public accounting (CPA) firms, recognized nationally and internationally.

Yanase, from Wakayama, Japan, learned about Utah Valley State College from some of his friends while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Washington, D.C. area. Originally, Yanase planned to stay at UVSC for a few semesters and then transfer, but when he got to the college, he didn’t want to leave.

“There are just more opportunities here at UVSC,” Yanase said. “The students want to work together and the professors get to know the students personally.”

According to Yanase, the excellent learning atmosphere at UVSC was one of the things that helped him in his interview at Price Waterhouse Coopers, which ultimately secured him a job offer.

“I was asked to define teamwork in my own words at the interview; without all the experiences and group projects here, I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Yanase explained. “I liked the small classes and teamwork at UVSC.”

As a junior accounting associate at Price Waterhouse Coopers, Yanase hopes to put the same amount of dedication he used in his academic career into his career with the company. “I want to apply the principles I learned in school to my work,” Yanase said. “I want to be teachable, get along with people and work well with others.”