Anthony Kumar Email & Phone Number

Growing up in my mom and dad's liquor and grocery store (literally, since we could not afford a babysitter), I have always been surrounded by business. His physical paper spreadsheets, inventory lists, and business checkbooks became my typical glimpses of "grown-up work". I had grown so accustomed to the regulars and vendors coming into the store that my parents let me check off the Frito Lay's receipts to make sure the stockboy had the correct number of Cheetos and Doritos. Whether or not my parents wanted the free child labor, that's a different story. I still remember the look on their faces when I told them I got accepted to UC Santa Barbara for Economics and Accounting. I was the first person in my family to ever go to college. My mom and dad immigrated from the Philippines and India respectively in their mid-20s and soon after had me, making it difficult for them to pursue higher education. The Covid-19 pandemic snubbed me of an in-person graduation but to my parents, they didn't care. Graduating college was a step in the right direction.Trying to find work during the pandemic was rough and I ended up picking up shifts at a downtown restaurant I used to work at while living with my parents. I put a few applications out there but found myself growing complacent since I had a roof over my head already and earned pocket money to buy essentials. It wasn't until I got hit with the news that my brother had passed away in a car accident along with my cousin and closest neighbor, just four days before Christmas, that I gained some perspective in life and decided to completely revamp my approach. I pushed ahead and wrote to an accounting temp agency in the hopes they could set me in the right direction. And the rest has been history. A part-time accounting temp turned into a full-time AR accountant. I then expressed interest in Accounts Payable, hoping to gain knowledge on both ends of a business. I made that switch and became an AP accounting clerk and CPA correspondent to a number of CPA firms in the Bay area, helping answer questions and passing along financial documents for their review.I am currently pursuing my Master's in Public Accounting, hoping to take my CPA exams next year and earn my license. The journey so far as a young adult has been full of ups and downs. But deep down there is a sense of pride and grit I hold for getting this far. I know my mom and dad and brother are proud.