To the working mom: It's all about balance

Alysia Gawrick, RSM boomerang

#
Culture RSM alumni

My RSM US LLP (RSM) story began as an intern in 2010, the summer before I graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University. I'm so grateful for my internship where I could learn RSM's culture, understand the office dynamics, meet the team I would potentially work with, and ultimately decide RSM was where I wanted to start my career. At the end of my internship, I was offered a full-time tax position with RSM, graduated from NWU, successfully passed my CPA exam, accepted the full-time tax position and started my career at RSM. About two years later, I transitioned into the state and local tax department.

Alysia Gawrick

After a few years with RSM, my husband and I wanted to start a family. To do this, we knew we needed more work-life balance. So I went on a limb, decided to leave public accounting and RSM, and transitioned into internal auditing at a life insurance company. I was interested in this company because of the strong women leadership they had at the helm. I’ve always admired leadership that exudes authenticity, compassion and empathy, and that’s what I saw in my new role.

My new leader allowed me to think creatively to determine what risks were present and devise a plan to mitigate them. One of the major developments I worked on was a tax transformation project where I found myself using skills I learned at RSM to improve their technology while streamlining their tasks to make the department more efficient.

As I settled into my new role, I had triplets (yes, triplets!). They were born at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and my work-life balance was more important than ever. I knew I wanted a remote role to manage my time caring for my three young children while also progressing in my career. But I wondered, how could I do both?

During my time away from RSM, I stayed connected with many former colleagues who became friends. While looking for other jobs, my friend Evan Fullmer, state and local tax senior manager, reached out and asked if I would ever consider returning to RSM. I felt nostalgic for all my RSM memories—the people and the work, so I said, of course! There was one condition for returning, though: to have the flexibility to work from home. Fortunately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, RSM enhanced its flexibility benefits to ensure its people felt supported in caring for themselves or family members when needed. In our family, we live by a quote from The Home Edit organizing system: "We are surviving, not thriving," and RSM's flexibility benefits allowed me to master that well!

Want to hear more about Alysia's RSM boomerang story? Connect with her on LinkedIn. Or, if you’re inspired to find your next role at RSM, explore our openings today.

Life at RSM

Do you want your voice to be heard?

At RSM, our people-centric culture grows because of perspectives like yours. Our people are empowered to make an impact, to own their careers, and to achieve their personal and professional aspirations.  We celebrate the differences among our talented employees.

When we bring those unique talents and perspectives together, it strengthens our teams and enhances the unique insights we provide our clients.