Treasurer Max Morand applies passion for accounting to the Senate

Matthew Saunders
Staff Writer

Hudson Valley student senate treasurer Max Morand has come a long way since graduating from Shenendehowa High School and has no intention of slowing down.

Morand, a second-year student, is in the Business Administration Honors program and joined senate last year as a freshman senator. “I just wanted to help serve my community and student senate is one of the best ways to get outreach into Hudson Valley,” he said.

In addition to his role in student senate, Morand is a member of the Entrepreneurship Club and Investment Club, crediting this experience as the impetus for taking part of the senate. “One thing those clubs, and every other club, struggles with is membership. That’s one thing I wanted to help with.”

Like his friends and colleagues, student senate president Nathanael Savasta and vice president Thomas Nevins, Morand said he was focused on winning a very specific senate seat. “Ever since I became friends with Thomas and Nathanael, they had their hearts set on their positions and I had mine set on treasurer.”

Morand said he set his sights on the position of Student Senate Treasurer because of his ambition to become a forensic accountant. “I like to think of it as the spicier side of accounting,” he said. “I would most likely work for the government, like the FBI or something like that, and I would basically be finding money where it shouldn’t be,” Morand continued.

Solving white collar crime appeals to Morand and, in pursuit of that goal, he hopes to transfer to The University at Albany. It is one of only two colleges that offers a forensic accounting major in New York state, the other college being John Jay College of Criminal Justice located in New York City. Morand said the field of forensic accounting is limited but growing.

Pursuing such a job could be considered stressful to some, but Max is no stranger to stress. In his spare time, Max works as a supervisor at Marshall’s. He said it can get pretty crazy managing a wide range of employees, especially with the holidays approaching quickly, but he said he finds a way to get by.

With the fall semester readily coming to a close, Max is already excited about spring. He recalled the success of Hurricane Relief Drive recently undertaken by the Senate and praised the Nursing Club for their help in the effort.

He mentioned that the wheels are already turning for next semester, but most of them have yet to be disclosed.

“We have a few events planned and things we want to try to get done, but we don’t want to burst the bubble quite yet. We want it to be a fun surprise for next semester.”