From a young age, accounting and business professor Denise Talley noticed she had a knack for a subject that most of her classmates disliked—math.
“I was very strong in math,” she says. “I succeeded in the subject and really enjoyed algebra.”
Professor Talley was such a star math student that in high school, she worked as a math tutor, helping other students understand the techniques that came so naturally to her.
When the time came for Professor Talley to head off to college, there was no doubt which major she wanted to choose. She started her journey at Virginia Tech as a math major, but midway through her freshman year, she discovered the accounting field.
“I played field hockey all through high school and college, and during one of my college practices, I picked up my assistant coach’s accounting book that she was reading for a degree she was pursuing at the time. In reading it, I realized it was the kind of math that I loved. So, I switched my major to accounting,” she says.
Today, Professor Talley has been teaching accounting and business courses at Germanna for over 20 years. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
A certified public accountant by trade, Professor Talley recalls that she never pictured herself as a teacher.
“But when I look back on my journey,” she says, “I realized that in a way, I’ve been teaching in some capacity my whole life.”
Serving as a tutor to her classmates and friends in both high school and college and later training large corporations on accounts payable practices, Professor Talley was unknowingly preparing herself for her future.
“I’ve really always been a teacher, and I learned that I was actually pretty good at it.”
Her first official teaching position came to her while she was working as a general accounting manager for the Virginia Military Institute.
Professor Talley taught at Southern Seminary College for Women for two years and with her newfound passion for teaching, she decided to go back to school to get her first master’s degree in business administration. She continued her teaching career at Dominion College in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she worked as an accounting program director and professor and served as the College’s director of education. The director of education role led to a position at Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology.
As a Fredericksburg native, Professor Talley was ready to move back home, and she knew she wanted to continue working in education.
“I met someone who worked at Germanna, and he told me about an open accounting adjunct position. I decided to take it, and I started teaching courses while still working as a controller for a wholesale greenhouse company,” she says.
She loved it so much that she sought out a full-time position.
As a member of the Germanna family since 2000, Professor Talley says there’s no place she’d rather work.
“At four-year schools, sometimes the students are only there because their mom and dad told them they had to go. Teaching at Germanna is so rewarding because I feel like the students are more appreciative. The small class sizes make it possible for me to form lasting connections with students and get to know them on a more personal level.”
She is grateful for the relationships she’s created with her students over the years, saying that one student asked her to be a godmother to her daughter.
The key to creating those special relationships with students? “Sharing things about myself to let my students know I’m a real person, too,” Professor Talley says.
She also makes an effort to create a comfortable, laidback, and open environment in her classes to put students at ease.
“The courses I teach can be challenging for students because math intimidates them. So, I try to reassure them and put them at ease on the first day.”
Though Professor Talley has held administrative roles at the College, in the classroom is where she is the happiest.
“I really enjoy advising students and helping them plan a roadmap for their futures.”
She also encourages her students to continue learning even after they get their degrees to keep up with the fast-changing world. “I’ve seen accounting change so much in my career, so I’ve had to be ahead of the game and adapt quickly. I decided to go back to school to get a master’s degree in accounting, and I finished my last graduate course as probably the oldest student in the class. Being a lifelong learner is certainly necessary in this day and age.”
When she isn’t teaching or fulfilling her duties as chair of Germanna’s Curriculum Committee, Professor Talley enjoys living a simple life on her farm.
“We have five dogs, four cats, and 20 chickens,” she says. “So, I enjoy tending to my large family and gardening.” She also helps her wife run her coffee business, offering assistance on the accounting side and traveling with her to local farmer’s markets to sell her products.
As she looks ahead to the future, Professor Talley hopes to continue sharing her passion of accounting and business with her students and wants to inspire them to one day start their own careers in the field.