Hirsch ended up at Western Michigan University after speaking with a high school counselor who told him about the accounting program. Being from Chicago, Hirsch liked the idea of staying somewhat close to home, while also being able to enjoy frequent snowboarding trips.
At WMU, he maintained a high GPA and became involved with the honors society, Beta Alpha Psi, as well as the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. During his junior year, he secured an internship with the auditing practice of Arthur Andersen and ended up with a full time job offer and the opportunity to get an MBA at partial cost. Hirsch graduated from WMU as the Presidential Scholar in Accounting and won the Ernst & Young award for having the highest GPA in the program.
While Hirsch was working on his MBA, Arthur Andersen went under and Hirsch began looking for new employment. He ended up at KPMG and joined their Economic and Valuation Services Practice. Today he has 12 years’ experience providing valuation services to internationally known companies and corporations.
Hirsch is interested in helping other accounting Broncos land jobs at top firms, most of which focus their recruiting efforts at other schools, and recently returned to campus as 'Professor of the Day' to speak with students. The keys to getting your foot in the door, according to Hirsch, are to maintain a high GPA and start networking early. He was able to land a premier internship by doing just that—he went after it by sending resumes and getting to know people in the industry.
While Hirsch says that many of his coworkers came from schools that receive higher ranks, he has never felt at a disadvantage, noting ‘they use the same textbooks at most schools,’ and encourages WMU students to work toward their goal knowing they’ve received a top education.
Hirsch lives near Chicago with his wife Julie (BS ’03, Elementary Education) and their three daughters. He still snowboards, but not as often as when he was student. Today he enjoys boating and aviation, having received his pilot’s license in 2002.