Sydney Nelson
Age: 25
Hometown: Milwaukee
Education: Bachelor’s and master’s, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Previous position: Internal auditor, CNH Industrial
Current position: Internal auditor, Rockwell Automation Inc.
Why stay in Milwaukee?
“Milwaukee is a city that has its fair share of problems. But it’s never going to get better if we have our positive people continuously leave and never return. There’s a lot that needs to be done in Milwaukee in so many different areas and I try to have a little bit of involvement or conversations or be connected to people in each.”
Biggest challenges to get current position?
“I think first and foremost is not having many people who look like me in the profession because that kind of tells you that maybe either it wasn’t popular among the African-American population or those that tried it out failed. And I didn’t want to be one of those people.”
Why is self-improvement important?
“One of my mentors, who was my track coach as well as my accounting teacher (at Brown Deer High School), he was the one that always pushed me.
“At the end of the day, you want to be a role model for those that come after you, whether it was someone who was in the middle school at the time or my little brother or little cousins.”
Organization involvement:
“I really truly believe that we as human beings are put on Earth to serve others. Giving of my time, utilizing of my skillset in order to help mold or encourage or place someone else into a position where they can succeed, and being a part of (National Association of Black Accountants), that’s something I’m able to do quite easily.”
Favorite restaurant?
“My favorite restaurant is not really a real restaurant, but I studied abroad in Mexico and … I love eating tacos off the street cart on the corner.”
What are you reading?
“The Mentor Leader” by Tony Dungy.
