Scholarship Finalist - Nicole Johns

Nicole Johns is a student at Texas A & M San Antonio studying finance

Prompt: Share a personal story of how you overcame a major life challenge or obstacle and what lessons you learned that prepared you for college and beyond. How will these experiences provide you with a unique perspective in pursuing a career in business?

One thing I’ve learned about life is that no matter what path you choose, it’s going to come with obstacles. But if life is going to be hard, I’d rather it be hard working toward a goal than just hard. Sometimes, the very thing that causes you pain in the moment ends up being the thing that pushes you into your purpose. When I was younger, and going to community college, I went to file my taxes with several documents in hand. I asked the preparer multiple times if they entered everything correctly. They told me yes—but it turns out they didn’t. That one mistake cost me $1,000. As a broke college student, that was a big deal. I was frustrated, but instead of getting stuck in that anger, I told myself, “I’m going to learn how to do taxes myself.” And I did. I discovered I was skilled at it and even loved it. I worked for a major tax company for years before launching my own firm. That one moment taught me something powerful: in business, you get paid in relation to the problems you solve. I knew what it felt like as a consumer to have your taxes done wrong, and now I have learned how to fix it. That gave me a unique advantage. But after being in the industry for over a decade, I realized something else most people don’t follow through on the tax strategies they’re given, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t understand how. They need more than information, they need guidance. That realization made me shift the way I serve my clients, and the way I see my own future. That’s why I came back to college to finish my finance degree and apply to law school so I can become a tax attorney. What started as a painful, expensive mistake became a mission. I don’t just prepare taxes I teach, I guide, and I help people avoid the same traps I once fell into. I even mentor other tax professionals new to the business. This experience gives me a deeper understanding of what business really is: solving problems, building trust, and creating systems that help people succeed. I’m not just here to build a career I’m building a legacy.