Accounting student completes long journey from small town to UWM graduation

Four years ago, Milwaukee and UWM seemed very far away for Savannah Huettl. No one in her family had gone to college. Not many people from her small town went off to the big city. And beyond that, her family’s modest means seemed to preclude college.

A full-tuition scholarship opened doors for her, and Huettl charged through. Four years later, on the brink of earning an accounting degree and with a full-time job waiting, she looks back with wonder.

She worked internships at Northwestern Mutual and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She studied abroad, in Spain and Germany.

“The thing I learned is to wake up scared every day,” Huettl said. “If you aren’t scared to lose something, if you’re not working toward something that you might not achieve or that challenges you, then life’s not exciting.”