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Ruben Rodriguez

Tax Manager

Henry & Peters, PC

Tyler Tx

Robert E Lee High School

University of Texas at Tyler

When I attended UT Tyler, I was approached by one of my professors, Jennifer Reynolds, about attending a Beta Alpha Psi meeting. She said, “I see you here all the time studying. Take a break, come to our meeting, and have some pizza.” I decided to go, and during the meeting, the speaker talked about the diversity of career opportunities available to someone with a CPA license, as well as the professional flexibility and stability that come with it. That really caught my attention. At the time, I was 39 years old, working full time, going to school on my days off, and supporting my family while my wife stayed home. I was looking for a career that would give me options, long-term stability, and the opportunity to build a good income for my family. The CPA stood out to me because it could provide all of those things while giving me the flexibility to pursue different paths within accounting. The next day, I went to the counseling office and changed my major to accounting. That meeting really changed the direction of my career, and ultimately led me to become a CPA.

What excites me most about working in accounting is that there’s always something new to learn and a problem to solve. I enjoy taking information that may initially seem complicated or overwhelming and working through it until I understand what the numbers are telling me. Working in public accounting gives me the opportunity to see the impact of that work firsthand. I really enjoy working with my small business clients, understanding their businesses, and helping them use financial information to make informed decisions and plan for the future. Building those relationships and knowing that I can provide guidance that genuinely helps a business owner is very rewarding to me. I also really enjoy working with and developing younger staff members. Being able to share what I’ve learned, help someone work through a challenging issue, and watch them become more confident and capable is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. So for me, it’s really the combination of problem-solving, continuous learning, helping my clients, and developing the next generation of accountants. That’s what has kept me engaged in public accounting throughout my career and is one of the reasons I chose to become a CPA.

What I find most valuable about my TXCPA and TXCPA East Texas membership is the people and the relationships I’ve built along the way. Accounting can be a demanding profession, and I’ve always appreciated having a community of CPAs I can learn from, connect with, and turn to for different perspectives. I’ve also found a lot of fulfillment in being able to give back to the profession. Serving on the board has given me the opportunity to be more involved in our local accounting community, help support the next generation of CPAs, and contribute to a profession that has given me so much throughout my career. For me, TXCPA East Texas is more than a professional organization. It’s a community of people who care about the profession, about one another, and about making a difference in the communities we serve. Being part of that community and having the opportunity to contribute to it is what I value most.