Student Spotlight: Tatiana McQuinn

by Anna Harman

Tatiana McQuinn is a senior at Cedarville University with three majors: Spanish, Global Business with emphases in both Western European studies and Accounting, and Accounting. How does someone come to the decision to take on three majors? It just happens, according to McQuinn. 

The first major she decided on was Spanish, which came as a result of an impactful missions trip when she was in 7th grade. 

“I fell in love with the language and the people and wanted to pursue a career where I would be able to interact and help them,” McQuinn said.

McQuinn then entered college with a double major in Spanish and Business Management. Two weeks into her freshman year, a business professor advised her to switch out of Business Management, and that’s when McQuinn found out about the Global Business major. 

“I added my accounting major the spring semester of my junior year,” McQuinn said. “I had added a minor the fall semester of junior year and it was only three classes more to get the major, so I decided to go for it. I had really enjoyed the classes I had taken in accounting and I thought it would also give me a stable career choice. It’s a really logical system, and I like that about it.” 

As far as balancing three majors with campus life, friends, family, and work, McQuinn admits that it is a struggle. 

“My first semester at Cedarville, I had 18 credits, and my second I had 17, so I was crazy busy and didn’t have much of a social life. After that, I was able to balance it out a little bit more and take a lighter course load over the semester because I was also taking 12 credits of classes in the summer and six credits in a five-week modular format.” 

If she wants to get together with people, she usually tries to meet over lunch or dinner when she would have to take a break already, or sometimes right after a class when she wouldn’t typically be studying. She will also study with other people so she can study and talk to friends. As far as work, during the semester, she works as a tutor at the Cove in Spanish and Speech, which helps her practice while she helps others. 

During the summer, she had an accounting internship that she would do in the mornings to the afternoon, and she would do coursework in the evenings. She fit things like socializing and exercising in where she could. 

“I am not a night owl, and I stop doing homework after 9 because my brain just doesn’t function,” McQuinn said. “So after that is when I spend time with my family, call friends, and do other non-school related things that need to get done.” 

She will get to use all three of her majors starting in August when she begins her position on an international tax team at an accounting firm in Cincinnati. After that, there is always a need for a qualified accountant. McQuinn hopes to use her major as a ministry for churches, international ministries, or even people who don’t have the knowledge or time to do their own accounting. 

McQuinn has really enjoyed all of her majors, but she admits that sometimes she’ll leave one of them out when people ask “what’s your major?” 

McQuinn will graduate in May, finishing her three degrees in 4 years. She chose one major to walk with, since she only has to walk across the stage once, and for that she chose accounting. But McQuinn will get two diplomas; Spanish and Global Business will go on one, even though they are both Bachelor of Arts degrees, and Accounting is a Bachelor of Science degree, so it goes on the other diploma. 
Anna Harman is a junior Biblical Studies major and also a reporter for Cedars. She appreciates writing, peppermint tea, flowers, and going to concerts.