Social Sciences alumna Annika Jensen returned to campus recently to share her journey of ambition and resilience, from navigating economics classes at UC, Santa Barbara to becoming a certified public accountant and partner at a Santa Barbara-based firm.

Last month, the UCSB student organizations Hot Girl Hustle, Hermanas Unidas,Women in Law, and the sorority Lambda Theta Nu co-hosted a Women’s Empowerment and Career Panel. Five panelists, including Jensen, spoke about their career paths, the challenges they faced, and the lessons learned along the way — each an example of success in male-dominated fields.

Video of Jensen on the panel

Jensen started her career at UCSB as a Political Science major but after the economy crashed in 2008, she started rethinking her path and so transferred to Economics. “I wanted a little more stability," she said. Through a high school connection, she was able to get an internship at a firm where she fell in love with accounting. She realized that being a CPA was not just sitting at a desk and crunching numbers, but also about interacting with people and helping their businesses grow.

Today, Jensen is a partner at Palius, O’Kelley & Janzen CPAs and Consultants in Santa Barbara.

Working with different entrepreneurs, she sees all kinds of businesses and strategies. She takes what she learns to implement them to other businesses in unrelated fields. “I get to sort of wear these different hats,” she said. “I don’t necessarily know what problems I’m going to be solving.” But this, she says, allows her to build trust and deep connections with companies.

Early in her career, Jensen realized that the normal accounting life, like working 80-hour weeks, didn’t resonate with what she wanted in life. She wanted to connect with people and still have time to be a mom. With support from her boss, who showed her this work-life balance was possible, Jensen began to envision a firm where connection and sustainability were priorities.

A decade later, that vision became reality. At Palius, O’Kelley & Janzen she’s built a team that works 40 –50 hour weeks, less than the exhausting norm at other firms. She said her team is based on mutual respect, flexibility, and empowerment.

Still, Jensen said navigating a male-dominated profession comes with its challenges. She described  times when people assume the man in the room is the one in charge. “There are instances of that,” she said. “It sticks with you. It does impact your thinking.” Her advice? Know your values, build diverse connections, and don’t be afraid to ask for more. Being open-minded and surrounding yourself with different perspectives gives you strength, she advised the younger women present.

Through her story, Jensen offered more than career tips to young women heading into the business. She offered a roadmap for rewriting the rules.

Video:

JENSEN  [Multimedia Package] - Katherine Flores

Katherine Flores is a second year student at UC Santa Barbara, who is majoring in Film and Media Studies