Before he was 黑料福利社鈥檚 (NPC) accounting controller, Andrew Pennington
was a teenager searching to survive in a world filled with adversity.
鈥淚n high school, I was bullied terribly,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淚 started skipping school
and eventually dropped out. When I was 16 years old, I got my GED at the adult education
center in Malvern and enrolled at Ouachita Technical College to study information
technology.鈥�
Pennington鈥檚 first journey into higher education was short lived, however, and he
was quickly thrusted into the workforce to take care of himself. In 2008, fatherhood
arrived, which motivated him to seek a better future for his new family.
鈥淚 was working in a dead-end job with no future,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淚 was laid off
and unemployed with a six-month-old child. I was at a point where I didn鈥檛 know what
to do, but I knew that I had to do something.鈥�
Looking for an answer, Pennington found hope in an unlikely place.
鈥淚 was trying to find a job through the unemployment office and someone there recommended
that I go back to school,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淚 started researching different career
paths and found that accounting graduates had a high percentage of landing a job after
college. I knew that I was decent with numbers and decided to give it a try.鈥�
Pennington enrolled at NPC and quickly fell in love with the program.
鈥淚 remember taking my first accounting class with Jennifer Lyons,鈥� Pennington said.
鈥淚t was great. She was relatively new at the time, but she played a big part in my
love for accounting. After that class, I ended up tutoring others in Accounting I
and eventually tutored in Accounting II, too. Everything felt natural to me.鈥�
In 2011, Pennington became the first in his family to graduate college when he received
his associate degree from NPC.
鈥淲hen I walked across that stage, I didn鈥檛 think of it as a milestone,鈥� Pennington
said. 鈥淚 was focused on whatever I had to do next to keep moving forward and provide
for me and my family so that when my children get older, they can follow in my footsteps
and graduate too.鈥�
Determined to further his education, Pennington entered the online Bachelor of Science
in accounting program at the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR). Although juggling
school and work was not easy, he never gave up on his goals.
鈥淯ALR鈥檚 program was great because I could do it at my own pace,鈥� Pennington said.
鈥淚 was working at Magic Springs at the time and although there were many late nights
involved, I鈥檓 proud that I stayed dedicated and made the time to get it done.鈥� Pennington
graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2015. Putting his skills to
work, his journey took him from Hot Springs to North Little Rock.
鈥淎fter my time at Magic Springs, I started my own business doing bookkeeping for businesses
on the side,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淯sing my IT experience, I started buying tax-related
domain names and making webpages. I also spent some time as the finance manager for
the Garland County Sheriff鈥檚 Office before moving to North Little Rock to do accounting
for a real estate development business.鈥�
In June, Pennington became NPC鈥檚 newest accounting controller鈥攁n opportunity that
allowed his family the opportunity to move closer to home.
鈥淢y family and I really missed being in Hot Springs,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淲hen we saw
this opportunity, we were both very excited.鈥�
Constantly thrown into different environments from a young age, Pennington had to
grow up quickly. No matter what life threw at him, however, the father of three never
lost sight of his goals.
鈥淒on鈥檛 ever be afraid to struggle,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淪truggling means you鈥檙e trying
to get to a better place. The secret is to stay motivated. The best thing you can
do is get a combination of education and experience. Make goals, complete them and
keep making more.鈥�
