3 minute read
MONICA FOWLER
On Track
Accounting degree puts Fowler in charge of Transit Authority finances
BY PHIL RIDDLE
This 2008 Tarleton graduate has Fort Worth moving.
Monica Fowler, chief financial officer of the Fort Worth Transit Authority, keeps public transportation humming in the North Texas city of 800,000. The FWTA annually provides nearly 10 million passenger trips on buses, vanpools and the Trinity Railway Express.
Fowler credits accounting faculty members at Tarleton’s Killeen campus — now Texas A&M University-Central Texas — with readying her for a career in a demanding environment.
“All the business classes really helped prepare me in terms of how other business units fit into an organization as a whole,” she said.
Writing is one of the most important skills she learned at Tarleton.
“How many documents do you put together that seem cumbersome and redundant? Then you get into the business world and you have to communicate either verbally or in writing. Tarleton prepared me for that in terms of how I present myself and my staff on behalf of the organization.”
Fowler grew up in Dallas and graduated from Skyline High School in 1993. She had moved to Burnet and was considering options for a college education after spending several years raising a family.
“I just got to the point where I was thinking, ‘What am I going to tell my kids?’ That has always been something that has driven me—how my kids see me.”
Wary of a daily drive from Burnet to Austin, Fowler’s research led her to Killeen. She wound up enrolling at Tarleton based partially on the short commute and smaller class sizes.
One visit and she was hooked.
“One reason I ended up registering was the time counselors and office staff spent helping me through the process,” she said. “It was completely different than some of the other colleges.”
Fowler had pursued a degree at a two-year school before, but moving into a university curriculum was daunting.
“Having somebody who was willing to take the time pushed me over and made me decide I was going to Tarleton in Killeen,” she said.
Results prove she made the right choice.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2007, graduating cum laude while earning a spot on the Dean’s List.
“I take what I learned at Tarleton and apply it to my activities every day at work. It is non-stop for me, whether it is communicating with staff, in terms of management, or translating something financial to someone in the company. These are things Tarleton taught me.”
As an alumna, Fowler is a vocal supporter of the university, even at the office.
FWTA’s vice president of government relations, Rebecca Montgomery, was mulling returning to school a couple of years ago and sought Fowler’s advice.
It was quick and succinct.
“I told her to pick Tarleton, and I told her why,” Fowler said. “I told her if you want to get the attention you need to get you through this—where people aren’t just shoving you through, you’re not just another number—and you really want to take away what you’re supposed to from a degree, this is where you want to go.”
In their conversations, Fowler shared her experiences and explained that Tarleton had a Fort Worth center. Montgomery was eager to visit.
“The experience was so pleasant and so easy,” she said. “They looked at the classes I had accumulated and came up with a plan for me. They walked me through it. I enrolled and never looked back.”
Now she’s on track to graduate in May. Thanks to a nudge by her co-worker.
“She is awesome,” Montgomery said of Fowler. “She’s such a bright lady. I love working with her.
“She makes our organization look good. You want to be associated with people like Monica.”
