It all adds up
Perhaps it's Douglas Gruener's 3.97 grade point average in accounting at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management that awarded him a coveted intern position in the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, D.C. to work with government officials on the Enron scandal.
Or maybe it's the fact that he's a Fulbright scholar to Japan. Or perhaps
it's because he spent three months in 2001 working as an accounting intern
at Arthur Andersen LLP in Pittsburgh, where he was responsible for supporting
the firm's senior staff through account analysis, client interviews and
industry research during the audits of clients' financial statements.
Or maybe it's because Gruener, a Pittsburgh native and 1998 graduate of North Hills High School, is just a hard worker and darned good student.
This enterprising and gifted 22-year-old will continue his studies in Japan next fall as a Fulbright scholar. Gruener, who will receive his bachelor's degree in accounting with a minor in Japanese studies and economics from CWRU's Weatherhead School of Management on Sunday, May 19, will study and conduct research with plans to examine current changes in Japanese accounting standards, particularly how they will affect the country's capital markets and merger activity. He also will research changes in corporate structure as they relate to economic recovery and de-industrialization.
Prior to being awarded the Fulbright, Gruener studied at Sophia University in Tokyo from March to July 2001 in the Council on International Educational Exchange program, with coursework in international economics and advanced Japanese language. He is certified in Japanese proficiency by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. He also served as an accounting intern at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Patient Business Services.
However, Gruener says he almost didn't get the chance to experience this happy middle and ending to his academic career at CWRU.
In early 1999, his second semester as a freshman, Gruener realized he may have to withdraw and go back home. While he believed that his education at the Weatherhead School of Management was the best he could receive than from any other university, he and his family were having difficulties affording his tuition and he thought he may have to go home to Pittsburgh.
While he loves his hometown, he felt his best chance for future success was to stay at CWRU. But the scholarships he'd already secured weren't enough to cover some basic expenses.
"The fact was, I really wanted to stay here, and leaving would have been a huge disappointment," Gruener said.
But after filling out several transfer applications to public universities in his home state of Pennsylvania, Gruener shared his situation with adviser Kevin Carduff, director of undergraduate program services at Weatherhead. Carduff went to bat for Gruener and contacted Gary John Previts, professor of accountancy and associate dean at the time, about the freshman's options.
Previts and Carduff worked together to find more scholarships for Gruener, who finally felt financially secure enough to stay at CWRU.
"I owe those two gentlemen a great deal, because they decided to take a risk on me by finding applicable scholarship funds in the amount my family and I were deficient," Gruener said. "Mr. Carduff and Dr. Previts gave me the opportunity to stay here, despite the fact that I was just a freshman with one semester completed. At the time, they didn't know if I would become a good student, and frankly, I didn't know either. But the faith they had in me was an inspiration, and I've given 100 percent for the entire four years I've been at CWRU. The support I've received from them and other faculty members at Weatherhead have been amazing, and the best part is that it will continue long after my graduation."
Not only did the Weatherhead School's gamble on Gruener pay off, but he ended up being an asset to the entire CWRU campus and Northeast Ohio community.
He serves as president of Beta Alpha Psi, the professional financial information fraternity for students of accounting, finance and information systems and is a member of the Japan-America Society of Northeast Ohio. He also is a student member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Prelaw Society. He also was chosen as one of Northeast Ohio's "best and brightest" college and university students by Northern Ohio Live Magazine.
Gruener's career aspirations lead him to utilize his knowledge of Japan's language and culture to help in forging stronger ties between the U.S. and Japan.
"Since I plan to attend law school," he says, "this could mean becoming an in-house lawyer for a corporation with operations in both nations. Or I may achieve this goal as a U.S. government employee. Who knows?"
On top of all these accomplishments, Gruener is a diehard fan of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League Baseball. Every time he travels, he tries to visit the home baseball stadium of wherever he is.
"So far, I've only been to 10 fields, but regardless, I'm confident that Pittsburgh's PNC Park is the best there is," Gruener said. "I guess I'm biased since Pittsburgh is my hometown, but that's the way it is."
In fact, he says, his "fantasy job" is to work for a major league baseball team in the U.S. for the sole goal of recruiting Japanese baseball talent.
"The next Ichiro (Suzuki) is out there," says Gruener. "Baseball is my first love, and I can't think of a more interesting career. Of course, I'll probably end up being a lawyer/accountant for a business organization or government."
Somehow, though, if Doug Gruener puts his mind to it, he'll probably own the Pittsburgh Pirates one day.
