麻豆AV

Emily Bantola 鈥�06

What first interested you in your career? How did you discern your calling?

The way that I ended up studying business was because I didn't like math. In high school, I decided to take business math in my senior year, just to get my last math out of the way, and I discovered accounting and loved it. So that's actually what made me study business. 

I had also gone on mission trips to East Asia, like to Taiwan, and then I went and taught English in China one summer when I was at Covenant, so I had a calling towards Asia. But I was thinking in my mind, I'm gonna go and be a business person. So I had both the desire to do business and support global missions in some way.

What has your career path looked like since graduating from Covenant?

After graduating, there was a small group of people from Covenant who were going to go to East Asia and do campus ministry. I was super torn, because I wanted to go to Asia, but I really had been thinking I would go into business right away, yet I decided to give it a try. I signed up for two years to do campus ministry with Mission to the World, and just felt really at home in the culture.

I quickly realized that being with students all day was not my calling, and I was looking for administrative tasks to do. We were partnered with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) over there, and they had a small office nearby and needed an accountant, so I switched to doing the accounting. When people found out that I had an accounting degree, they realized I could be doing more. I became a finance manager for East Asia, Hong Kong, and Macau for Cru, just managing the flow of money and the accounting and all the finances. It was there I met my husband. He's from the Philippines and was the finance manager for the Philippines鈥攚e met in Turkey at a conference. We got married, and then when I was pregnant, we moved back to the states and joined Cru officially together. That's when the Lord called us to stay in the US while continuing to work in the global side of things.

In 2021, I became the internal audit director for Cru鈥檚 global finance division. Cru is really large internationally, we're in 191 countries. I have 200 plus different entities that fall under my scope for us to audit, and I have about 40 auditors around the globe from different countries who have been trained. They volunteer their time to travel and review the financial processes, making sure that funds are being used according to the donors designation, that the ministry is using financial information for decision making, and that the information is up to date. It's not quite something people think about when they think of missions, but it is missions. It is so important, and I just love it.

Looking back now, how did Covenant prepare you for seminary and your career?

I really loved all of my classes at Covenant and really enjoyed Professor Chris Dodson. He really challenged us and really wanted us to achieve our highest potential. Professor Dodson also knew my heart for ministry and encouraged me to consider studying nonprofit accounting. But also Covenant鈥檚 focus on having a worldview that's holistic was very impactful. I learned about how Christ influences not just your relationship with Him, but everything like your work, the way you think about the world, and the way you view current issues in the world. That has helped me a lot in terms of seeing the world through that lens. 

Academically, right now I'm actually studying for a certification, and the things that I'm studying I remember learning them in my finance courses at Covenant. The foundational basics in accounting and finance have carried me through. But overall, in terms of presenting, giving presentations, writing, speaking鈥擟ovenant prepared me well. I had no idea how much writing I'd be doing, especially professional writing as an auditor and learning how to write in a way that is professional.

I also had a work study position with a professor in the business department, Dr. Raphael, and really enjoyed that. Of course he had me do things like grading, but I actually got to help out with some of the classes, and that was really helpful for me in my development. We鈥檝e actually stayed in touch.

In what ways does your faith inform your career? 

I'm thankful that Covenant helped me discover how God has gifted me and encouraged me to wholeheartedly pursue that calling. I see faith playing a part in my career as I get to make a big impact globally and help build the kingdom of God by equipping and building the capacity of global missions. One of the unique things about Cru is all of our ministries are pretty much locally run by nationals. And so really helping them grow in terms of fundraising and becoming self sustainable, where they raise their own funding, is one of the biggest hurdles for a lot of these countries. In the audit, we take a look at their finances and see how they are doing in terms of becoming self-sustainable.

What advice would you give students who are considering Covenant?

Don't limit yourself to what you think is out there. If God has put a calling on your life to use your business skills, He will provide a way, whether it's now or five-10 years down the road. He will direct that path. Just know there are a lot of options out there. Studying business doesn't mean you have to sit at a computer and just enter data. I think a lot of times, I thought, 鈥淚 don't want to just be a data entry person.鈥� You can do big scale professional things or find a large organization where you can do internal audit or risk management. The options are endless.

Also, it is rare to find people who have a degree and educational background in business or finance or accounting in ministry. There's such a need鈥攁 big need鈥攊n ministry for people with that skill set because it is not the place most people look to get a job as an accountant. I would encourage Covenant students to consider ministry, because I never thought I could do ministry and business.

Why did you choose Covenant?

I went to a church where there were a lot of people who ended up going to Covenant, so I was aware of Covenant, and once I went to visit, I really didn't consider many other places. I鈥檓 really glad I chose Covenant even though, when I first graduated, I didn't really appreciate Covenant as much. I began thinking, 鈥淚 don't have a degree from such and such place, like other people.鈥� But over the years, I've really appreciated it more and more and am really glad I went there. It built a good, holistic worldview and I gained some of those skills of engaging with culture that were more impactful than a fancy degree. God has me where he wants to be.

What are some fond memories or a favorite story from your time at Covenant?

I lived in Carter Hall my whole time at Covenant, so I would say probably a lot of the different hall events that we had, like Carter Christmas or other events where we would dress up crazy and go off campus.