Orange Networking Leads Brothers to Jobs at the Big Four

Networking opportunities at Syracuse University’s Whitman School landed twin brothers Luca Sinatra ’22 and Nick Sinatra ’22 internship experiences and job offers at two of the Big Four accounting firms. The duo had very similar Whitman undergraduate experiences, but when it came to the beginning of their careers, they took different paths.

Luca credits Professor of Accounting Practice MaryAnn Monforte for introducing him to the accounting field. Through her Accounting Stars program, he was given the opportunity to network with alumni and industry partners at all the Big Four firms.

He landed a virtual tax internship with EY’s New Jersey office last summer. “During the internship, I was able to see a lot of the concepts I had learned in professor Ginger Wagner’s tax class being applied in the real world,” he says. “This internship gave me a preview of what working in the professional world would be like.”

Post-graduation, Luca was offered a full-time tax role with EY. He gives credit to his mentor and friend, Bobby Spichiger ’19, ’20 M.S., whom he met through the University’s swim club. Spichiger has guided him both academically and professionally.

Nick agrees that the Orange network is what helped him land at KPMG—first with a tax internship last summer, then with a full-time offer as a tax associate for the firm in NYC.

“I believe that Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) was important in helping me land this job, since we had so many networking events with Big Four companies,” Nick shares. “BAP not only allowed me to network with professionals in my field, but it also gave me the chance to meet my peers and pushed me to volunteer.” (BAP is Whitman’s accounting business fraternity.)

The volunteer opportunity that Nick learned the most from was WhiTax, a student-run accounting firm that offers the community tax preparation. The purpose of this student organization is to give back to the community and allow students to gain hands-on experience by providing free tax services to low- to mid-income families, veterans, students, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

During their time at Whitman, Luca and Nick were Whitman Leadership Scholars and members of the swim club. They gained leadership experience in the organizations and valued the opportunity to work on teams with their peers.

After graduation, they planned a trip to Calabria, Italy, to visit the villages where their grandparents once lived, as their intended study abroad experience while at Whitman was canceled due to COVID. Upon return, these two will take their different paths on their way to successful accounting careers with the Big Four.