Accounting assistant credits school background, faith and Midland College for successDecember 01, 2020

"The drive and purpose for many people who go to school are to make it big," Emma Avampato said. "My desire is to love people, help them and serve them."

Emma Avampato has lived in Midland for most of her life. Her family moved here from Oklahoma when she was 3 years old with her two older brothers and younger sister.

She first heard about Midland College (MC) through her older brothers, James and Miciah. James got an associate degree from MC before going to the University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB); Miciah earned a welding certificate. Emma’s younger sister Ellenie is currently in the MC Engineering program and will transfer to Texas Tech following graduation. Midland College is a family tradition.

Emma's path to MC began at home. Her mother homeschooled all four of the children through middle school. Emma then attended Midland Classical Academy and graduated in 2016.

"Homeschooling and then Midland Classical taught me how to study, a habit that transferred into college," Avampato said. "I was given a strong foundation which has helped throughout my entire college career.

Following graduation, she took a gap year and went to the Middle East to work in Oman, where she homeschooled three children.

"This was one of the hardest experiences I have ever endured," Avampato remembered. "However, the blessings and the benefits that came from it were more than I could have expected."

For Avampato, Midland College had just what she was looking for when it was time to transition to college. Coming from a small high school with small class sizes, personal interaction with professors was important. Financial aid was essential, too.

"My Dad told us when we were young that he would not pay for college,” Avampato acknowledged.  “My siblings and I heard this before we knew what it meant.  It was big, knowing from the very beginning that I would have to self-finance school."

The Bill Pace Cogdell Scholarship financed her education.

"The Bill Pace Cogdell Scholarship helped pay for the majority of my school," Avampato said. "It was a blessing. Self-sufficiency was an invaluable lesson for me. Midland College is right here. It is affordable, and the college offers great scholarships."

The professors at Midland College have also been helpful for Avampato. She credits her accounting professor Dale Westfall with helping her decide to major in accounting.

Westfall remembers her well from her time at Midland College.

"Emma's aptitude for accounting coupled with an attitude for success made her a self-disciplined, critical thinker who was conscientious about her assignments and a pleasure to have in class," Westfall said.

Avampato knew that nothing was going to keep her from finishing her degree. In 2019, she graduated from Midland College with an Associate of Arts degree. She is now working part-time for a Midland-based oil company, Encore Permian, as an accounting assistant while pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accountancy at UTPB.

She is also getting married later this month. She and her fiancée went to high school together, and they reconnected at UTPB. She hopes to start a family.

"I am pursuing my degree, and the drive I have behind my studies is making the Lord known in my actions," Avampato added. " I would not be able to do all of this by myself. He has sustained me through every part of life. I would hope that I am in a place where I can be of help to others—to be a servant to other people."

What advice would Emma Avampato give to students?

"Don't spend too much time studying. Find a balance between studies and everything else. Life does go on outside of school.  Be diligent in studies but don't let it take over."