Meet Michael. Michael will graduate from College of Western Idaho (CWI) with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Applied Accounting on May 13, 2017. Michael came to CWI in 2015 in search of “something new, something different, something challenging” after being laid off unexpectedly from a career he had spent the last 30 years in. Staying out of debt was very important to him and affordability is what initially attracted him to CWI when making the decision to go back to school. A highlight of Michael’s journey has been as a member of Business Professionals of America (BPA), where he was chosen to compete nationally last year and is currently competing again this year at the 2017 conference in Orlando, Florida. Following graduation, Michael plans to pursue a career in bookkeeping or accounting and is considering continuing on to earn his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. His advice to anyone who finds themselves in the middle of a crazy life turn is to “Just go for it!”, as going back to school was exactly the jump start he needed to get going again.