Business Without Borders

MSAA Student Daniela Aguirre Garcia Builds on Family Roots While Preparing for a Future in Accounting 

When Daniela Aguirre Garcia left Puebla, Mexico, to play soccer in the United States, she left behind more than a hometown. She left daily lunches with her family, Saturday visits to her grandmother's house and cousins who felt like siblings. The closeness of her family didn't make the move harder but instead, gave her the confidence to make it.

In the years that followed, that sense of belonging grew. She found it in the friendships formed through collegiate soccer, and later, in the cohort-based support of the Master of Science in Accounting and Analytics (MSAA) program at the University of Louisville College of Business. From family to teammates to classmates, connection has carried Aguirre Garcia toward a future rooted in accounting, ambition and legacy. 

Beyond the Field 

With a passion for soccer since childhood, Aguirre Garcia didn’t let the fact that she was a girl stop her from pursuing the sport she loved most. “My whole life I [felt] something very special for soccer,” she said. “I was in kindergarten, and I went to my mom [and said], ‘I want to play soccer.’ She said, ‘You're too little.’ She hoped that it would fade away...because soccer for girls was not really a thing in Mexico...but it didn't.” She explained that soccer taught her “a lot about teams and collaborating with people” – lessons that would later influence how she approached both college life and graduate school. Little did she know that the sport she loved would change the trajectory of not only her educational future, but her entire life.

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As she entered high school, Aguirre Garcia’s love for soccer only increased. “I got to compete in high school, and I was just really into it. I had so much of a passion for it that I was a captain,” she said. With both passion and skill for the sport, it wasn’t long before she began considering ways she could continue to play at the collegiate level. One of her friends, a member of Mexico’s under-17 national team, had committed to play soccer for the University of Alabama and encouraged Garcia to consider opportunities in the U.S. After giving it a great deal of thought, she made the decision to pursue her education and collegiate soccer career in America. “After talking to my parents and seeing what I could do, we said, ‘You know what? Let's do it,’” she said. “Then I committed to the University of the Cumberlands (UC).”

Soccer may have been the door that first opened for Aguirre Garcia, but once she stepped through it, she began discovering new paths that would eventually lead her from the field to the classroom and from athletic ambition to professional purpose.

A Different Goal

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Unable to pursue her chosen degree program in civil engineering at UC as the program was not available, Aguirre Garcia made the decision instead to focus on accounting. “I had to switch plans, and [I liked] civil engineering because it was numbers and math and logic,” she said. “Then I searched for ‘majors for when you're good with numbers and logic,’ and accounting popped up.” The unexpected decision connected her back to her family in ways she had not planned for but were ultimately the perfect fit. “I have to admit, my dad is an accountant, my mom is an accountant and my sister decided to study accounting,” Aguirre Garcia said. “I thought, ‘I'm just going to copy the rest of them.’ So, we're a family of accountants. It wasn't too far of a stretch, clearly.” 

While at UC, Aguirre Garcia sustained a sports injury that ended her soccer career but led her to focus more fully on her academic and professional future. That shift opened the door to an opportunity with one of the top accounting firms in the country – Ernst & Young. “I turned my focus from athlete to student, and I obtained an internship with a Big Four with EY,” she explained. “I did that internship and then the next year I did a continuing internship with them.”

If everything went according to plan, Aguirre Garcia would have a gap year before beginning full-time work. Considering how to maximize that time, she looked again to her family, particularly her father, who had earned his master’s degree. “I always envisioned myself by 25 having a master’s completed...and I wanted to evolve myself and be a better professional,” she said. “So, when I was approaching graduation, I thought, ‘I think I should just jump into it and do it.’ I looked at a lot of programs, but what I really liked is that UofL is in person, and that they let me work in the morning.” That combination of flexibility, in-person connection and professional preparation helped Aguirre Garcia see UofL not as a pause before beginning her career, but as the next intentional step toward becoming the accountant she wanted to be.

Teamwork in Practice 

Fearful that she would be entering a program filled with professionals with years of experience, Aguirre Garcia was hesitant as she began the MSAA program. “Before starting the master's, I was really scared,” she admitted. “I was thinking, ‘I know I'm going to jump into the master's, and there's probably people that have worked for 10 years, and now they're coming back for [their] master's to keep evolving. I don't have the professional experience that they have.’" However, what she found as she began her classes was that her cohort helped her feel like she belonged. “We're stuck together four times a week, and we make it count,” she said. “We're good friends.” For Aguirre Garcia, that connection became one of the most meaningful parts of the program. The cohort model offered not just networking, but a new support system in Louisville, built through shared coursework, group projects and the experience of moving through an intensive graduate program together.

While she finds the program rigorous, Aguirre Garcia shared the impact supportive professors have made on not only her education, but in building her confidence to tackle the challenges ahead. “I know Dr. (Carolyn) Callahan will be happy to have a conversation with me any day. She’s proud of all of her students,” she shared. “[Also,] Dr. (Dereck) Barr-Pulliam will go out of his way to help students. I know if I’m ever stepping out into the professional world and I need someone to help me in auditing, he would help me as much as he can. I think the faculty is welcoming.” That encouraging environment helped Aguirre Garcia continue building the kind of support system she had always valued, rooted not only in support but in shared purpose, mentorship and preparation for what comes next. 

The Long Game

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With a contract to work for EY, Aguirre Garcia is set to become a public accountant upon completion of her master’s degree. She also plans to pursue her CPA, continuing the professional growth that first drew her to the MSAA program. Still, long term, her sights are set on more than earning credentials or building a career of her own. She hopes to one day extend her family’s accounting legacy by helping bring her father’s firm to the states. “The goal I have is to become a strong accountant and open his firm here in the U.S. and run the operations for him,” she said. “Being able to extend his firm and extend the legacy and have it here in Kentucky. I think that would be my biggest dream.”

For Aguirre Garcia, the idea brings her journey full circle. The family that helped give her the courage to leave Puebla, pursue soccer, adapt to a new country and continue her education is now becoming part of the professional future she hopes to build. Through UofL’s MSAA program, she has found not only academic preparation and career direction, but another kind of family – classmates, faculty and mentors helping her carry that legacy forward.

If you are ready to move from the sidelines to your next professional play, the UofL College of Business MSAA program offers the technical training, cohort support and career preparation to help you step onto the field with confidence. Learn more about our MSAA by visiting https://business.louisville.edu/academics-programs/graduate-programs/msaa. 

About the UofL College of Business: 

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people. 

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