Maria is a new NINJA CPA Blogger.

Hi Fellow NINJAs,

I am from Gloucester, Virginia, a small town close to the Chesapeake Bay where everybody knows everybody. I’m 23 years old, married, and I think I have the usual life-gets-in-the-way issues with studying for the CPA exam like many other NINJAs.

When I have time, my personal life consists mainly of days with my husband on our new boat and walking or fetch with my two dogs, Cabby and Raven. I am also an avid exerciser, so I try to make sure at least 30 minutes to an hour of every day is taken up with something active.

My work life began when I graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2011. At that time I was finishing my second tax season as an intern for Malvin, Riggins & Company, a mid-size accounting firm located in Newport News, Virginia.

I had a slightly bumpy start to my career when I was not one of the five interns hired for two full time positions at Malvin Riggins. Luckily, I was offered a job by a small (two CPAs) firm in Richmond, which gave me a 74 mile one way commute. Four months later, I was able to get a job much closer to home with another super small (one CPA) firm in Gloucester.

Six months after all of the craziness and job-hopping, in January 2012, I was asked to return back to Malvin Riggins as a full time Tax & Accounting Associate. I was SO excited. I absolutely love working for Malvin Riggins, and this April, after my fourth tax season, I was promoted to Senior Tax & Accounting Associate. The short story – I absolutely love my job!

Now onto my CPA exam journey…my journey began in January 2012 when I took REG for the very first time. At the time, I was on a month long break from working on my master’s degree. When I failed with a 64, I decided to put it all down until I finished my degree.

I graduated with an MSA last July and tried REG again in August of 2012 and I PASSED! This gave me the energy I needed to push through and try FAR, which has given me quite a run for my money. I am on my fourth try with FAR and waiting for a score on August 2nd.

In the mean time, I passed AUD after three tries and am now onto studying for BEC. I’ve learned a few things throughout this journey – (1) testing for the exam during tax season is a horrible idea, (2) studying requires more dedication than almost anything else I’ve ever done, (3) I am a HORRIBLE test taker and last, but certainly not least, (4) NEVER ever give up.