Tristan Fraley

Week 1

My name is Tristan Fraley and I am going to be a senior at Wayne State University this coming fall. I am a part of the swim team and dedicate most of my time to that when I am not studying or going to class.

I first became interested in C&M during my sophomore year of college when I went to an accounting career fair. The firm was very different from the other ones at the career fair because it seemed close-knit. I know other places talk about teams and working together, but hearing about how the teams work at C&M and the number of people that work for the firm showed me that it is a place where you know everyone and can help each other. I related to this being a part of a swim team where we spend a lot of time working together and helping one another.

I thought I knew what C&M was going to be like after going to the Reach Beyond leadership program and having a couple of interviews. After my first week I was blown away by the kindness and helpfulness of everyone, I was working with. There is always someone to talk with and ask for help. They will help you step by step and make sure you understand what you are doing and make it fun! I appreciated getting emails from people welcoming me and scheduled lunches where I got to see everyone in the department I work in.

What surprised me was the level of care that each person gives to a client as well as each other. I see that the staff truly loves what they do and care about helping everyone! I like to work in teams and the strong communication that we have here really makes the jobs easier and days feel shorter (even though I don’t want the day to end)!

What I am looking forward to the most is being able to handle some projects on my own and contributing to the team I am in. Right now I am in the learning stage and I enjoy working with my team. I feel I can contribute a little right now but once I get the hang of everything I can’t wait to become a helping hand at C&M.

Month 1

My experience at C&M has been great so far! I enjoy being able to work with such great teammates. I know these are different and difficult times we are living in but the knowledge I am gaining from this experience is great! Each person I work with and learn from takes the extra time out of their day to help me with whatever I am confused about.

What I have enjoyed the most working here so far is the teamwork that is put forth to make sure that each client gets immediate updates and feedback on whatever they need. I can see that C&M truly cares about the client and always has time to explain and help them as much as possible.

One moment that truly stands out was in my first week at C&M. I was told that whenever you are at a client meeting that it is good to dress above business casual. I was invited to sit in a web call with a client so the team I was with would discuss the process they are going through. Before that web call, we had our own team call to discuss what we would talk about with the client. I saw everyone wearing normal business casual attire and thought they would change for the client call. I decided to put my suit on because I thought it was the right thing to do. I ended up being the only one in the call that changed clothes out of business casual and felt completely out of place. My coworkers got a few laughs out of it as did I.

My first month has been greater than I expected! With the pandemic happening, I thought it would be hard trying to communicate and learn online. The team at C&M has been welcoming and flexible during this whole ordeal and I am excited to log on each day and learn some more!