Alumni Memories: Steve Daas, ’86 BSB

Jobs were plentiful when Steve Daas graduated from the Carlson School. “I was one of 20 interns at Arthur Andersen, one of the Big Eight accounting firms at the time,” he says. “The demand for accounting professionals was huge. I don’t think I’ve seen that large of a cohort since then.”

During his time at the Carlson School, Daas’ daily schedule had little wiggle room. “I was working full-time and going to school full-time,” he says. “There tended to be more group projects in the upper-level courses, and managing that without email and cell phones was a bit of a challenge. I was working nights in the warehouse at the Fisher Nut Co. in St. Paul—I always tell people I worked for peanuts.”

Even with a full dance card, Daas found ways to stay active on campus. “I got involved in the honors program and was treasurer of the Honors Board,” he says. “There were five of us who organized special events and programs for anyone taking honors classes.”

These days, Daas is co-owner of Global Tax Network, a Golden Valley, Minn. based tax consulting firm that specializes in international tax services for companies with employees working overseas. It’s a busy job, but he has stayed involved with the Carlson School. “I’ve been a part of the mentorship program for the last 17 years, even when I was living in Singapore for three-and-a-half years [while working for Ernst & Young],” he says. “We mentor a student or two each year. It’s a great one-on-one experience for them and it keeps me in touch with the Carlson School.”

Daas is so grateful to the Carlson School that he established the Stephen Daas Scholarship Fund to pay partial tuition for two or three students each year. “I tell my nieces and nephews that going to school there was the best thing I ever did,” he says. “I would not be where I am today without getting the education I did at the Carlson School.”