Accounting Became Personal at Aims for Andi McGowan

In 2021, her husband started High Country Ironworks in Johnstown, Colorado. The family launched the business with $2,500 from their savings. Suddenly, Andi wasn’t just keeping track of receipts; she was trying to keep a growing company’s books in check. Hiring a bookkeeper or accountant wasn’t in the budget, so she decided to build the skills herself. This decision led her to nearby Aims Community College, where she took business courses. 

A mother of four and a newly empty nester, Andi came back to school after years of managing a household and supporting her family. Now at 51, she is on her journey to earning an Associate of Applied Science in Accounting. 

While in school, Andi approached her coursework with the same discipline she carries in other aspects of her life. While not in a hurry, she took a lighter course load so she could focus fully and maintain high grades. 

What stood out most wasn’t the content, but the way learning carried from one class to the next. Working alongside the same classmates, Andi found an environment where students leaned on each other, solved problems together and gained confidence. “It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. “You can always learn something new.”

Andi is a first-generation student and this May, she will complete her college degree. It's something she is deeply proud of. “Being the first in my family to graduate isn’t just for me, it’s something I want my kids to see. I want them to know you can always reinvent yourself and learning is always an option.”

Real-World Accounting Experience

During her time at Aims, Andi’s most hands-on learning engagement came through Tax Help Colorado, a free tax preparation and e-filing program serving thousands of Coloradans annually.

This program offers Aims accounting students practical training before entering the workforce and provides an opportunity to give back to the community. Andi first got involved through her coursework, like other students in the program. In Fall 2024, she took Accounting 1032, a tax preparation certification course that equips students to use tax software and understand the fundamentals of tax law. 

“It was crazy how many different things we had to learn,” Andi said. In this process, she quickly realized the value of the experience, especially for business owners. Andi was grateful to learn more about Schedule C returns, used by sole proprietors and many small business owners. “It gave me a really solid foundation of how to do our business’s tax returns,” she said.

In the Spring of 2025, she enrolled in Accounting 1033, the Tax Help Colorado Practicum, which requires students to volunteer in the community during tax season. Andi worked at Aims sites in Greeley and Fort Lupton, logging 103 hours. This was among the highest totals among student volunteers that year.

Andi discovered the strong need for this program on her first morning. “There were already 30 people standing in line,” she said. Many times, people stood in freezing temperatures, rain, snow and sleet to wait for doors to open. Later in the season, she remembers lines wrapping around the building. On some days, sites had to turn people away because the demand exceeded the volunteer capacity.

For Andi, the most rewarding part was helping ease the stress for those in need of assistance. “Being able to assure people that your stuff is getting done right, and you don’t have to worry about this, is huge for people,” she said. She still remembers being 18 and doing her taxes for the first time, fearful of making a mistake. Andi understood the anxiety people were walking in with and replaced it with reassurance as they worked on the tax forms and filing. 

She worked with taxpayers from “all different walks of life,” she said, including elderly community members, families, students and business owners. Andi saw how refunds can help families living close to the edge, as many people use them to catch up on bills or stabilize their finances. 

Andi liked volunteering with Tax Help Colorado and the additional business expertise it provided her. Even though she doesn’t plan to pursue a career as a tax preparer, the experience was helpful as she continues to bookkeep for her family business. Moving forward, she is confident that her taxes will always be compliant, organized and audit-ready. 

2026 Tax Help Colorado

Tax Help Colorado is open for free tax preparation and e-filing assistance. Individuals and households with annual incomes of less than $70,000 in 2025 can participate at no cost and receive aid to IRS-certified Aims students and community volunteers. The program runs on Thursdays in Loveland, Fridays in Fort Lupton and Saturdays in Greeley. Learn more about Tax Help at Aims, aims.co/tax-help.