Alumni Story

Catawba gave me a strong base for learning.”

Elizabeth Renteria is a 2016 graduate of Catawba College. She was a double major in Accounting and Finance, and Economics. She played tennis and was a member of several honor societies such as Alpha Chi and Phi Epsilon.

Elizabeth's academic journey at Catawba was deeply influenced by the mentorship of her professors. “I had a great mentor, Dr. Hake, in the business program. I enjoyed my first economics class with him, and he was the one who encouraged me to pursue a finance degree. I always found the coursework with him engaging, and I enjoyed applying thinking in our courses to real-world issues,” she said.

During her time in the business program, Elizabeth learned valuable concepts that she uses today in her job. She said, “The accounting courses provided a solid foundation for my financial modeling skills today. I also find that I often revisit the concept of Net Present Values from my accounting courses when completing financial analysis of investment opportunities.”

Elizabeth believes that Catawba helped prepare her for life after graduation by giving her a strong foundation for learning. She said, “Catawba gave me a strong base for learning. What I have found to be the most important in my career is the ability to think critically and the willingness to learn. Catawba allowed me to further these skills through its challenging course load.”

Today, Elizabeth works at Rennie Advisory in Australia which is a consulting firm that helps businesses in the transition to net zero. She said, “I lead the decision support team at Rennie Advisory which provides financial modelling and business case services to support clients in making investment decisions.”

She added, “These investments are usually large infrastructure projects that enable the transition to net zero. For example, my most recent piece of work has been assisting a company in investing in grid-scale solar farms, wind farms, and batteries to replace its coal fire-powered stations.”

Elizabeth's journey from studying at Catawba College to leading projects at Rennie Advisory exemplifies how a strong educational foundation can pave the way for global change and innovation.