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Class of ’21: Paige Goldsmith Is Ready for Her Next Chapter

We asked Goldsmith about what was important to her during her McIntire career and what she’s looking forward to in the months to come.

Paige Goldsmith

Dallas, TX, native Paige Goldsmith enjoyed her prerequisite courses at McIntire. She also liked that the average class sizes at the Comm School were smaller than some of the larger lecture classes she had, making it easier to get to know her classmates and professors. As it worked out, she was so interested in business that she decided to major in Commerce at McIntire—double major, actually, combining it with studies in History.

Concentrating in Accounting and IT, she had the opportunity to apply her new knowledge at an internship with Deloitte in their tax group last summer, and come graduation, Goldsmith will be working at Bain as an Associate Consultant.

The McIntire Mentor involved in Madison House and Greek life at UVA, who’s also a TA for Introduction to Financial Accounting and Introduction to Management Accounting, says she’s certain that what she’s learned about public speaking and giving presentations will help her to navigate her professional future.

“So many of the Comm classes I’ve taken have had a presenting component to them, so I’ve grown to feel much more comfortable doing them than I did at the beginning of third year,” she says. “I felt super-prepared when my internship last summer had us give presentations, and I think this skill will definitely be helpful in my full-time work as well.”

We asked Goldsmith about what else during her McIntire career was important to her and what she’s looking forward to in the months to come.

What Comm School educational experience has made the greatest impact on you and why?
I think the Integrated Core Experience had the greatest impact on me overall. I came into Comm thinking that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I quickly learned that was not the case, as I was exposed to the different areas of the curriculum and found myself more interested in certain classes than I originally thought I would be. This realization made me want to explore different career paths that I hadn’t previously considered, so I’m not sure I would’ve ended up where I am now if I hadn’t had to take classes across a wide variety of areas. Additionally, I learned so much from my Integrated Core Experience team, as everyone brought so much to the group in their own ways, and they’ve remained my go-to people for all things Comm related.

What’s your favorite memory from your time at McIntire?
Some of my best memories at McIntire have taken place in the Comm computer labs. Leading up to the deadline of one of the big spring Integrated Core Experience projects, almost all of the teams from my block went to the same computer lab to work, essentially taking it over. While everyone worked on their respective projects, everyone joked around and took breaks from their work together. Being surrounded by everyone in the same position made the sometimes stressful workload much more fun throughout my third year.

Beyond reaching the end of the pandemic, what are you looking forward to most?
A friend and I are planning to go to the West Coast or Hawaii for a volunteer farming program this summer, which is something that I’ve wanted to do for the past couple of years, so I’m excited for that! Additionally, I’m excited to be moving to D.C. and getting to know the city, since I’m not from the area.

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