by John Michael O'Leary
You could say Nikki Roser ’94, accounting, M’98, has a heaping helping of business responsibilities on her plate. She oversees 115 employees in First Bank’s businesses across White and Wabash Counties in Illinois and in Gibson, Posey and Vanderburgh Counties in Indiana. She serves on boards for the bank, for Ferrell Hospital in Eldorado and for the Absher Foundation, which supports education and healthcare in White County. Such responsibilities seem to come naturally to Nikki, and they support another thing she is passionate about-mentoring and developing young people.
“I serve on the board of White County CEO, which stands for Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities,” says Nikki. “We created this group to expose high school seniors to businesses and to help them understand the opportunities for entrepreneurship. We encourage our young people to stay in White County and be part of the area’s economic development.”
Nikki’s passion for developing the talents of young people is known by the USI community as well. As a member of the USI Accounting Circle she works with faculty and students to discuss the accounting profession and to promote its multi-faceted opportunities.
“USI is so ingrained with the business community, the networking I was exposed to as a student was priceless. Now, I am thankful for the opportunity to offer my experience to help young people figure out what they want to do with their career and cultivate the skills they need to achieve their goals.”