Former Foster Care Youth and Mother of Two Earns her Masters Degree While Giving Back to the Community
By Suzanne Finch
Of the over 350 accounting majors graduating from the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, there is one woman who will walk the stage during commencement in May who has shown extraordinary resilience, unshakeable self-confidence and perseverance to overcome adversity.
Despite a childhood of challenges, Brooklyn Lopez, now 23, will earn both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from SDSU’s Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy. Shortly afterward, she will enter the workforce as a full-time corporate tax accountant for KBF, the global accounting firm where she worked for the past two years.
Brooklyn Lopez
Lopez’s path to academic success was paved with formidable challenges. Starting at age 11, Lopez and her two younger siblings lived in four foster homes and a temporary county shelter for children until they eventually aged out of the system and into adulthood.
Education as a way out
While she was a high school senior, she became pregnant with her first child but it didn’t stop her from graduating with her class and pursuing her college dreams. Lopez understood a college education would lead to a better life and expanded opportunities.
After graduating high school, she enrolled at Cuyamaca College. The determined young mother earned three associate degrees with honors in accounting, business administration and economics.
While attending Cuyamaca, Lopez applied to transfer to SDSU “because of the great reputation of the Fowler College of Business, especially in the accounting program.”
In 2019, she began attending SDSU. The following year, she enrolled in the BMACC program, a five-year program that allows students to simultaneously earn their bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees in accounting.
Giving Back
"My advice to other SDSU students is to always push forward. To me, there is no excuse to not reach your ambitions. You just have to work for it and work hard. It's not going to be given to you."
- Brooklyn Lopez, SDSU BMACC Student, Mother of Two and Former Foster Care Youth
If being a mom, a student and a part-time employee wasn’t enough, Lopez also gave back to her community as a volunteer with SDSU’s Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Her friendly nature and tax expertise allowed her to become a student supervisor in her second year of the program earning her praise from accounting professor Steve Gill, who oversaw the free tax assistance program.
“Brooklyn immediately demonstrated a really friendly demeanor with the clients and other volunteers, as well as solid technical acumen in the tax preparation process,” said Steve Gill, an SDSU accounting professor who also had Lopez in several of his graduate courses.
“Brooklyn's performance throughout her academic career at SDSU could be described similarly: one of high academic performance and graciousness with her classmates and instructors,” said Gill. “She leaves SDSU with a great deal of promise for an extremely successful future.”
Looking Toward a Bright Future
Now the mother of two, Lopez continues to move past her rocky start in life as she now focuses on her career and future. She hopes to build on her success as she studies in preparation for California’s CPA exams this fall and she hopes her achievements will be an inspiration to her children.
“There have been thousands of moments where I wanted to give up, but I subconsciously know that’s not an option,” she said. “I will continue to strive to be the rebellious hero who breaks this disgusting cycle of abuse and neglect for the sake of my stability, my children, and their success. The madness ends here, with me. Being able to graduate with a master’s degree in accounting will bring me one step closer to my success in this journey of life.”
