Personal Essay: Certified Public Immigrant

I am Catalina Leny Marquez. Born and raised in the Philippines, I was exposed to many cultures, among them Spanish, American, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian. This was due to the colonization of the Philippines by Spain for more than three centuries, the cessation of the country to the United States in the early 20th century and the invasion of the Japanese during the war. I finished my Bachelor in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines. On account of my love of taxation and law, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the equivalent of the Internal Revenue Service here in the US, was my employer, first as a tax auditor until I became an assistant division chief of the Tax Fraud Division, a department which investigates and audits fraudulent taxpayers.
In 2003, I moved to Alaska and took my certification as a CPA under the reciprocity rule. Providence Health and Services, now known as Providence St. Joseph Health and the third largest not-for-profit hospital system in the US became my employer in 2007. I currently work as a Senior Finance Health Partner where I work side by side with Chief Finance Officers and managers of the hospitals and clinics in Alaska. Providence, because of its mission, was the right choice for me. I am able to contribute back to the community by providing the caregivers in our system the financial support they need.
I cannot believe that in a matter of months, I will have a daughter who will be going off to college. As many recognizes, parenting is leadership in more ways than one. It is leading by example, communicating clearly rules and expectations, being directive and participative and having the ability to motivate and inspire, among other things. My kids have taught me that just like a leader, being a parent is also understanding and accepting