Gregory Brookins

Professor

“I’ve never thought of myself as being what you might typically expect of an accountant. The old green visor just isn’t my style.”

He is just in his first year as a full-time SMC faculty member, but is happily going with the flow. “I’m transitioning in and learning the ropes,” says Gregory Brookins. “But people here have been so helpful to me, and I’m completely enjoying this new life.” Greg spent a lot of years in entertainment doing audits at the big studios and working in finance for TV production. “In showbiz, it’s ‘No biz, no show,’“ he says. “But it got to the point where the demands on my time were no longer worth the benefits. So I made some active changes to simply make a more fulfilling life.” That life is unfolding quite nicely in Greg’s Accounting classes at SMC.

“I’ve had some extremely interesting experiences in entertainment, and I’m able to use them as examples in the classroom to make it more personal and lively,” he reports. And when asked if he’s one of those ‘abracadabra’ types with the figures, Greg laughs heartily. “Absolutely I am not!” he says emphatically. “I’m a little bit more on the conservative side,” says the man who coaches Little League and maintains a passion for softball. “What I promise my students—other than a hard time,” he says with a laugh, “is that I’ll know all of their names by the third week. And no one will get a chance to just sit around. Come prepared and, above all, participate,” he adds. “Because of all the upper management experience I’ve had, I’ve realized that business isn’t just about numbers and computers. You must be able to write and speak of your knowledge as well when you walk into that boardroom.

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