Christy Landsaw

Age and/or Generation: 40 Something, Generation X

Current Job(s): I am currently the Director of Budgets & Planning for Northeastern State University and the owner of KTK Angus Steakhouse in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Former Job(s): I was originally hired by NSU as the Payroll Supervisor.  Prior to joining NSU, I practiced public accounting with a Broken Arrow CPA firm.  I was also one of four partners/owners of a Wings to Go Franchise in Muskogee.

Education and/or Training: As a Navy “brat” I went to fifteen different schools across the US before graduating from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  After high school, I attended Tulsa Community College then transferred to NSU as a “non-traditional” first generation college student.  After receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northeastern State University, I went on to study and pass the Certified Public Accountant exam.

Greatest Professional Accomplishment:  Thus far, I would have to say one of my greatest professional accomplishments was passing the CPA exam.  At the time I was eligible to sit for the exam, it was only offered twice a year; once in May and once in November.  The two day exam consisted of four parts: Finance, Accounting & Reporting, Audit and Law and you had to take all four sections at the same time.  If you passed at least two sections and achieved a score of at least 62% (as compared to your peers also taking the exam) on the sessions you didn’t pass, you could “condition”.  Conditioning meant you didn’t have to retake those sections again. 

Three weeks before I sat for the exam, on the one year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, my father passed away unexpectedly.   Needless to say, instead of studying, I spent the next few weeks making funeral arrangements and helping my family through a rough time.  One week before the exam, I had to make a decision whether to go ahead and sit for the exam or forego my exam fee and the time I had already devoted to studying and postpone sitting until six months later.  I made the decision to take the exam, “conditioned” then went on to pass the remaining sections.

I can’t really put into words any other specific event I would claim as my greatest professional accomplishment.  I don’t think I’ve reached my full potential and believe there is so much more I have to contribute. I’m hoping I haven’t achieved my greatest professional accomplishment just yet.

 Expertise:  Financial Planning & Accounting. 

Hometown: Our home resides in Hulbert, Oklahoma.

Other Towns of Residence:  Tulsa, OK; Washington, DC; Decatur, IL; Lafayette ,  IN; Ferndale, Eureka,  McKinleyville and Oxnard, CA; Corpus Christi, TX; and Adak, AK.

Family:  I am married to my best friend! We have been together for almost twenty seven years.  We have three children:  our oldest son, Devin; our daughter, Jordan; and our youngest son, Mason.  We also have two dogs: Jasper, a three year old Jack Russell; and Roxie, a three pound Yorkie that thinks she is the boss.

Hobbies: I enjoy entertaining and spending time with friends and family.  Cooking, baking, interior decorating and anything relating to home design or remodeling projects are things I enjoy most outside of work and helping out at the restaurant.

The Role of Mentors in Your Life:  I have been fortunate and have had many mentors in my life.  Unfortunately, I haven’t always told them how much of a difference they made because I wasn’t even aware of how much influence they had until much later in my life.   One mentor in particular, Mrs. Christian (my high school Accounting teacher) was such an inspiration to me and definitely guided my decision to major in Accounting several years later.  Since we moved so many times, I lost contact with her and never had a chance to thank her.

Professionally, two women I have looked up to with great admiration are Ms. Kim Cherry and Dr. Janet Bahr.  These women had a huge impact on NSU.  They devoted a large part of their lives to shaping our institution and left an everlasting impression on me.

Favorite Quotations: These are just a few of my favorites:

I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.  George Burns

The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.  William Morris

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.  Og Mandino