Emmitsburg boy
Angela Guiao
MSMU Class of 2021
(9/2021) Mount St. Mary’s University has been open for exactly 212 years. This year, exactly 2,362 students have been enrolled for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The student- faculty ratio is 12:1 meaning that there is one professor for every 12 students enrolled at the Mount. If the math is done correctly, based off those statistics, it is safe to assume there are approximately 196 professors employed at the Mount today. But of those 196 professors, I believe one deserves very special recognition: Professor John Sherwin.
Professor Sherwin was born and raised in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He graduated from Mount St. Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting as a Summa Cum Laude and with a Master’s in Business Administration as a Cum Laude. He also graduated with a law degree from the University of Maryland in 1991, passing the bar exam on his first attempt the same year.
However, his accomplishments don’t end there. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, where he received a Bronze Star which is awarded for "heroic or meritorious achievement or service." He has also earned his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) certification and his CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification.
Professor Sherwin started his career as an accountant with Coopers and Lybrand, CPA where he would focus on bank acquisition audits. A few years later, he would move to Linton, Shafer, and Co, CPAs where he focused on tax preparation and governmental audits. Afterwards, Sherwin would rise to become the Assistant Comptroller of the Frederick County Board of Education (FCBOE) in 1978 and eventually the Comptroller of the FCBOE in 2000.
Shortly after he began his career as an accountant, Sherwin was approached by Dr. Ray Lauer, who at the time was the Dean of the Business School here at the Mount, to teach an evening accounting course. Though at first he was unsure whether he would enjoy teaching, he quickly found that he liked it very much. As a result, he taught part time from 1976 to 2005 and full time from 2005 until the present day, a total of 45 years.
With such an impressive résumé, I was curious what he considered to be his greatest achievement. To this, he answered that his greatest achievement occurred on March 6th, 1993, the day he married his wonderful wife, Beth. Professor Sherwin and his wife have two wonderful sons, Bob and Michael, and two dogs, Lucy and Coqui.
Sherwin currently resides in Frederick, but still very much considers himself to be an "Emmitsburg boy." He describes growing up in Emmitsburg as "idyllic. It was and is a wonderful place to grow up." He was surrounded by friends, neighbors, and family, including his parents and three sisters.
At the Mount, Sherwin teaches several accounting courses, including intermediate and advanced accounting. Though his past students acknowledge that he is "one of the harder accounting professors," they all agree that he is the "best teacher if you actually want to learn accounting." They also note his "great sense of humor" and his ability to make accounting "enjoyable"; Sherwin ensured that students were well prepared for a future in the industry by the time they left his class.
When asked what he would like to be remembered for, Sherwin replied that he would like to be remembered as a fair teacher who showed enthusiasm and a love for the subjects he taught.
Being that I myself am one of Professor Sherwin’s previous students, I must say that Sherwin is an inspiration. His enthusiasm and love for the subjects he taught were translated into engaging and memorable lectures. He made accounting fun, which many would consider to be a feat in itself. But not only that, he made learning fun as well.
There is a common misconception that accountants are boring. But boring is something that Sherwin could never be. His class quickly became my favorite class. I never missed a day unless I absolutely had to, and it was not because he was strict about attendance. It was because I wanted to be the best. Sherwin made you feel that way, like you could accomplish any dream you wanted to, like you could be the best at anything you put your mind to. He showed this to students by constantly encouraging them to grab opportunities and take control of their futures.
If you walk into Professor Sherwin’s office on the third floor of the Knott Academic Center, you will see his walls are covered with his student’s achievements. There are many knowledgeable teachers in the world, but there are few who genuinely care for their students once they step outside of the classroom. Sherwin is one of the rare professors that are both.
Mount St. Mary’s University has offered me a great number of opportunities, opportunities that I would not have access to had I gone to another school. Though, if I had to choose one opportunity that I am most grateful for, it would be the chance to have Professor Sherwin as a teacher.
A school’s greatest asset is its students, but good students are a product of great teachers. And Sherwin is a great teacher. It was an absolute honor to be able to take his class and to learn from one of the best.
On behalf of all previous accounting students, I’d like to thank you, Professor Sherwin, for preparing us to be great. Not only great accountants, but also great people and great students. Thank you for 45 years of teaching here at the Mount. It is because of teachers like you that students like me are able to achieve dreams that they once thought to be impossible. May you continue to inspire future accounting students to reach their fullest potential.
When asked for one piece of advice everyone should hear, Sherwin replied, "50% of life is showing up, and 50% of life is knowing when to shut up."
So, thank you, Professor Sherwin, for always showing up.
Read other articles by Angela Tongohan
