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Three UNO Accounting Students Selected for National IMA Student Leadership Conference

Glenda Bricko, Matt Nourie, and Logan Groesser represented UNO at a national gathering of future accounting leaders, thanks to the IMA MEF (Memorial Education Funds) grant awarded to the School of Accounting.

  • published: 2025/12/17
  • contact: Melissa Lindell Kozak - Sr. Director of Communications & Marketing - UNO CBA
  • email: melissalindell@unomaha.edu
Four individuals stand in front of a blue backdrop with repeated “IMA” logos at a professional conference. Two men in light blue shirts stand on the left, a man in a navy blazer stands third, and a woman in a black suit stands on the right. All are wearing name badges and smiling at the camera.

Logan Groesser, Matt Nourie, IMA CEO Mike DePrisco, and Glenda Bricko

Three students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) School of Accounting—Glenda Bricko, Matt Norrie, and Logan Groesser—were selected to receive the prestigious IMA Memorial Education Fund (MEF) Grant to attend the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Student Leadership Conference in November 2025.

The grant was awarded to UNO as an IMA Endorsed School, reflecting the university’s highest standards in accounting education and preparing students for a variety of accounting career paths, including management accounting careers.

Held in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, the three-day conference brought together accounting and finance students from across the country to engage with industry leaders, develop professional competencies, and build meaningful connections with peers and practitioners.

For Glenda Bricko, who is one of the School of Accounting PCAOB Scholarship awardees, attending the conference was “one of the highlights” of her undergraduate journey.

“Hearing from industry leaders—people who have truly been there and done that—was incredibly valuable,” Bricko said. “IMA members and officers genuinely want students to build successful and meaningful careers, and they openly share their experiences to help us avoid unnecessary difficulties.”

She was grateful for the chance to attend the conference. “The SOA has given me many opportunities to succeed,” she said.

Fellow grant recipient Matt Norrie, Beta Alpha Psi Vice President of Records, also expressed his appreciation to UNO’s School of Accounting:
“The conference treated students as the professionals we are soon to be. I am grateful for the opportunity and hope future students can benefit as much as I did.”

A particularly memorable moment for Norrie occurred during a casual morning coffee break.
“Someone asked to join my table, and I soon realized I was talking with keynote speaker Tim Naddy, CFO of the Savannah Bananas,” Norrie said. “We talked about everything from baseball to accounting.”

That conversation led to a valuable professional connection in Nebraska—an unexpected outcome Norrie described with amusement:
“I wouldn’t have guessed that I had to go to Cleveland, talk with someone involved in a Georgia baseball team, to be introduced to someone in Nebraska.”

Conference sessions featured professionals from Johnson & Johnson, leaders in data analytics, and an accomplished panel including IMA Chair Pete Dolan, IMA Controller Cynthia Laughlin, Former Chair Steve McNally, and financial reporting manager Matt Stradiot.
“The ability to sit and listen to these individuals—who have worked in Big Four firms, Fortune 500 companies, and major corporations—provided valuable insight into the field I will soon be entering,” Norrie said.

School of Accounting faculty say it is important to be able to send students to events like these and give them a head start on their career paths.

“The UNO School of Accounting is committed to providing students with a strong accounting education while providing opportunities for them to explore diverse career paths in the profession. The support from the MEF grant for our students to attend the IMA SLC gives our students the chance to engage with the accounting community beyond the classroom and discover opportunities in Nebraska and across the nation,” said Dr. Roopa Venkatesh, Director of the CBA School of Accounting and Union Pacific Professor of Accounting.