Luke Hogan
Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
“Curious by nature, people-first, and tries to make taxes fun!”
Fun fact about yourself: I was born in Ireland and have lived in four countries.
Hometown: Wellesley, MA
High School: Belmont Hill School
Major: Accounting and Management
Favorite Business Course: Managerial Accounting
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
McDonough School of Business Student Body Government: President
Hoya Taxa (IRS VITA Program): President
Cornerstone Initiative: Student Coordinator
GUIDE: Coordinator with Undergraduate Program Office
Student Activities Commission (SAC): Commissioner
ACCT 2101 – Managerial Accounting: Teaching Assistant
MGMT 5505 – Leadership Communication: Teaching Assistant
McDonough School of Business Behavioral Research Lab: Research Assistant
Center for Student Engagement: Student Assistant
Senior Class Committee: Senior Parents and Family Weekend Chair
New Student Orientation: Orientation Advisor
ESCAPE: Retreat Leader
EY Datathon: 2nd Place Winner
First Honors
Where have you interned during your college career?
Internships:
- Deloitte – Boston, MA: Audit and Assurance Intern
- The Boeing Company – Mesa, AZ: Defense Financial Analysis Intern
Summer Roles:
- JetBlue – Boston, MA: Airport Operations
- Aer Lingus – Boston, MA: Airport Operations
- Walmart – Framingham, MA: Financial Services and Front End Associate
Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte – Washington, D.C: Audit and Assurance Associate
Who is your favorite business professor? Having taken five classes with Professor Kirsten Anderson throughout my accounting major, I quickly came to regard her as my favorite professor at Georgetown. First, Professor Anderson’s class was one of the main reasons I decided to pursue the CPA, and since then, she has been extremely supportive in navigating this challenging process. Second, Professor Anderson truly knows how to make accounting topics more interesting by highlighting real-life examples that transfer into our daily lives.
Her classes delve deeper than just the technical rules, forcing us to consider the reasoning for effects on financial statements. For example, when discussing the 2018 change in the corporate tax rate, Professor Anderson had us review annual statements and report the effects from before and after. I remember being struck by how such a small change could have a significant impact on financial performance. On top of this, she makes challenging content seem simple by breaking it down step-by-step, ensuring each student understands it. Finally, she helps build our accounting major community throughout the semester, supporting first- and second-year students through mentorship and upperclassmen through networking. Thank you, Professor Anderson, for making accounting fun these past four years.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Strong decision-making requires comfort with uncertainty. I have come to understand that it is impossible to fully predict outcomes and even the best decisions – commonly remembered through case studies – are rarely perfect. While businesses can analyze data, model scenarios, and market to the best of their abilities, ambiguity will always be present. My time at the McDonough School of Business has taught me the importance of making thoughtful yet bold decisions, being willing to take calculated risks for the common good, and having the humility to reassess and admit when a decision was wrong. I have used these skills through my student leadership experience, especially when developing new initiatives for these organizations.
With the generous assistance of Dean Justin Smith and the Undergraduate Program Office, I helped launch a new first-year transition program for business school students. Students are paired with upperclassmen mentors and dive into topics to support their transition into the McDonough community. Since starting the program, I have embraced the uncertainty that comes with innovation by testing new ideas, learning when they did not work as intended, and using those lessons to shape a stronger program for the students it serves. Ultimately, the program’s evolution reflects the kind of leader McDonough has shaped my peers and me to be: leaders who act boldly, learn openly, and build with others in mind.
What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Take the time to truly experience new things and explore interdisciplinary opportunities. Majoring in a business field offers the unique opportunity to work in any industry worldwide, and a university (especially Georgetown) is the place to challenge yourself and try new things.
I started at Georgetown as a biochemistry major. In my first few weeks, I found myself drawn to the mission of ‘Hoya Taxa,’ an organization that offers free tax preparation and literacy services to the D.C. community. Through this program, I found a passion for tax and was inspired to venture into the business world (partly through Professor Xiaoli Tian’s Introduction to Financial Accounting course and Professor Kirsten Anderson’s Corporate Financial Reporting class). I eventually found my interest in accounting, especially through roles in aviation and manufacturing. In summary, don’t follow a pre-paved path unless you’ve explored the multitude of opportunities available.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? Looking back, the one thing that I would do differently in business school is seek help from others earlier and more intentionally. In my first year, I believed that proving my worth would come from my independence and ability to complete tasks on my own; however, I have come to find that the best outcomes come from teamwork. McDonough School of Business courses include collaboration in the curriculum to help students learn to work with others as they would in the workplace. Early in my sophomore year, in a project for my Ethical Values of Business class (an extremely thought-provoking core requirement), I attempted to formulate ideas on my own, but struggled to connect the class concepts. However, when given the opportunity to work with others, I found that bouncing ideas off others helped us to spot nuances and consider things I had not thought about. With students from so many backgrounds and experiences, you can learn something from everyone, and I have now learnt to take the time to do so.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? Professors at the McDonough School of Business have truly found innovative strategies to integrate AI into our courses. In Managerial Accounting, Professor Karen Kitching has emphasized the heavy integration of technology, with a focus on new data analytics and database skills. Professor Kitching also created a GPT that students can use to ask AI for support based solely on course-developed content, creating an equitable learning support system. Another example comes from our Operations Management course. In many classes, students will discuss questions with their seatmates. Alternatively, Professor Emisa Nategh used an AI platform to develop case studies, record student group discussions, and provide detailed feedback. Through this implementation, I improved my communication skills and ensured my comments were more concise and meaningful to my peers.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Off campus, I have had the privilege of volunteering with Hoya Taxa and Community Tax Aid (CTA), which provides free (VITA) tax preparation to residents across the DMV area. We help people who often face challenges with U.S. Tax Law, language barriers, and the fear of making an error that could affect their finances and legal standing.
I have volunteered with CTA for four years, mostly at their Minnesota Avenue site in Southeast D.C, and am excited to see the same clients who return year after year. As President of Hoya Taxa in my sophomore year, I was excited to expand our reach, increasing our student volunteers from 12 to 45, and implementing new resources to faculty, staff, and students on campus to help them file as well. While expanding Hoya Taxa was important to me, it was even more important that the organization could continue to grow for the long term. Now, I support Hoya Taxa by conducting training for our new volunteers and serving as a senior advisor, helping new leaders navigate challenges and find new ways to help the community.
What I’ve come to appreciate about taxes is that they’re universal. I have had the opportunity to meet people from many backgrounds: couples who have lived in the DMV for 70 years, teenagers filing their first tax returns, and recent immigrants learning the system. Each year I return, I reconnect with regular filers at CTA sites, and I work to make the process more accessible and fair. My proudest accomplishment was helping a mother secure $8000 in tax refunds and it’s interactions like these that reshaped how I thought about service and impact, leading me to pursue a career in accounting so I can continue helping people navigate these complex systems.
Which classmate do you most admire? While there are many amazing classmates at McDonough, I have always admired Ethanson Le. A fellow accounting major and member of the Class of 2026, I have always been in awe of his determination, intelligence, and (most importantly) his kindness toward others. Whenever we learn a new concept in class, Ethanson is always the first to understand it; however, he doesn’t keep it for himself and always shares this understanding with others, including me. Ethanson is also heavily involved on campus: a teaching assistant for many classes, a tutor for students in the more challenging core classes in the McDonough, and a supporter of families in the D.C. area through community service. Furthermore, whenever someone mentions his name, he is always praised for his good-hearted nature and friendliness. I am incredibly grateful to have met a staple of the Georgetown community and strive to be more like him.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? There are many people I would like to thank for my success, especially mentors from Georgetown who have made my experience here amazing. However, if I were to choose one person, I would choose my dad, Risteard Hogan (and my mom if I could choose two!).
Throughout my family’s many moves back and forth across the Atlantic, one constant has always been my dad’s dedication to my education and to our family. When I was initially considering switching from biochemistry to accounting, he was the first to be supportive and helped me find ways to make the transition possible. Further, whenever I needed personal or career advice, my dad has always been there. Beyond his support, he is also the smartest person I have ever known, with a curiosity unlike anyone else’s. Even within my niche interests, my dad always makes a point of researching the latest news to have conversations with me. I am thankful every day for having a dad like him. Thank you, dad, for everything.
In addition to my dad, though, I would like to take a moment to thank Ana Gutierrez-Perez, Patrick Ledesma, Dean Justin Smith, Dean Patricia Grant, Eric Lupo, and Steph Bautista for all their support during my time at Georgetown.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
1) Become a Certified Public Accountant and a trusted advisor in aviation finance.
2) Help increase access to financial education to improve people’s financial outcomes.
What made Luke such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?
“I have taught Luke four accounting courses over his career at Georgetown, including one in his last semester here. I first met Luke when he was a freshman and taking the Intro to Financial Accounting course. At the time, he was a chemistry major, but was really enjoying the accounting class. After talking to him more about what his goals were, Luke enrolled in Intermediate Accounting (one of my courses). He applied to transfer to the business school, and I was happy to write him a glowing letter of recommendation. The rest is history as he has gone on to become an accounting major, future CPA, and leader among his peers at Georgetown McDonough.
There is something very special about him. He’s obviously very intelligent and works hard to achieve his academic successes. However, at the heart of it all, I just really enjoy talking with him about anything. Currently, Luke is working on a research tutorial with me. His work on the accounting for loyalty points and the impact on firm profitability and cash flows is shaping up to be a great paper. In addition, Luke is such an integral part of the McDonough community. I can barely keep track of all that he does for our school. He is 100% committed to keeping McDonough a special place, and it shows every day.
I teach and mentor hundreds of students each year, and Luke is truly special. I have really enjoyed getting to know him over the past four years, and I can’t wait to see where he goes in life.”
Kirsten Anderson
Teaching Professor of Accounting at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business
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