A Liverpool family with a flair for finance is celebrating after a son followed in his mum’s footsteps to graduate with a First from Liverpool Hope University.
Jake May collected his BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Wednesday 19 July 2023, six years after mum Shelley had achieved an identical result in the same subject.
It was a day of double celebration for 21-year-old Jake, who has also secured a role as an audit trainee at leading accountancy firm, MHA Moore and Smalley.
“It’s a relief to have finally graduated and to have a job lined up already is even better,” he said.
“I got the job after being nominated for the University’s Insight to Business Awards. The firm invited me to an assessment centre for their graduate scheme and I was successful.
“The University really helped me get that job. At the awards I was able to build connections with people from accountancy firms and those little things make a difference.
“In my second year we had a lot of training days where companies would come in and show you what to expect at an assessment centre.
“That really helped when I interviewed at Moore and Smalley because I was comfortable throughout and felt like I knew what I needed to do.”
After deciding an IT course at another university wasn’t for him, Jake enrolled at Liverpool Hope on the recommendation of his mum, who graduated as the highest performing Accounting and Finance student in her cohort in 2017.
“I had such a positive experience,” explains Shelley, who has gone on to establish a career working for herself since graduating.
“They have smaller class sizes which allows you to build a proper relationship with your lecturer and I thought that would suit Jake.”
That proved to be the case as, after overcoming the challenge presented by Covid-19 lockdowns in his first year, Jake flourished in Liverpool Hope Business School.
The former West Derby High School student believes he benefited from the University’s personal approach to teaching, which has set him up to succeed in the world of finance.
“Hope is different to other universities where you can have more than 100 people in a lecture,” Jake added.
“Being part of a smaller class is more engaging and gives you more contact time with your tutors so you feel like you can ask them anything.
“We did loads of activities throughout the three years which helped set you up for your career, such as guest lectures and presentations, as well as the Insight to Business Awards.
“Now, I am focused on becoming a chartered accountant. That’s my first step and will take two or three years and once I’ve achieved that there are a lot of avenues I can go down.”