Strange as it may sound, Janice Smith says she has always had a natural interest in income taxes. Smith could not have predicted the success that would follow when she decided to pursue that interest at Walters State Community College. Today, she’s well known among Tennessee’s certified public accountants.

Smith worked on a factory assembly line for ten years. During that time, she also completed training with a tax preparation service and worked a second job preparing income tax returns.

Today, Smith is a partner in Bible Harris Smith, P.C. and just ended her term as president of the 8,000-member Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants.

“When I decided to attend college, I was married with two boys in high school. My husband, Richard, had attended Walters State prior to transferring to ETSU and it made a lot of sense for me to do the first two years near home,” Smith said. Smith planned to transfer to the University of Tennessee and was told that an associate’s degree would enable her to transfer directly into UT’s accounting program as a junior.

“I transferred without any problems and I didn’t lose any credits.”

Smith started taking classes while still working at the factory in 1988. When her job was cut, the Walters State Placement Office helped her find a job as a part-time bookkeeper at a local business. She graduated in 1989 as the top graduate of the Business Division.

While at the University of Tennessee, she joined her current CPA firm and became a partner in 1998. She completed her Masters of Accountancy in 1992, once again as the top student. In the interim, sons Chris and Phillip Lovin also completed their first two years of college Walters State and transferred to UT.

Smith remembers her days at Walters State fondly.

“The first meeting I had at Walters State was with a counselor just to learn more about going to school. I remember looking at the counselor and saying I thought four years would be a long time to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“The counselor said those four years would pass anyway. You can go to college and have a degree in four years or you can continue what you’re doing. She helped me understand that time is passing and it’s up to me to determine what I’m going to do with it. I registered that day,” Smith said. Ultimately, she obtained a Master’s degree and passed the CPA exam in just over four years.

The business faculty at Walters State, especially Dr. Evelyn Honaker (now dean of the Business Division) and Hank Barnett (associate professor of accounting) made sure students understood every lesson, Smith said.

“For every effort I made, they stood ready to provide equal effort in helping me succeed,” Smith said.

“When I walked into the University of Tennessee, there could not have been anyone more prepared for that junior year. I never thought that I lost anything spending two years at Walters State. I actually gained.”

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