From dancing to accounting
Naomi at Dancehall Queen
In the studio
On stage, in her (other) element
Aiming for the stars
When COVID-19 lockdowns forced Naomi Henderson to pivot from her dance career, she added accounting to her skills at Santa Monica College. She had gone from national tours and music videos for artists including the Grammy-nominated Jamaican singer Shenseea to housecleaning to make ends meet.
Since her mom works in maintenance at a hotel and raised her daughter to be a self-described “neat freak,” Naomi excelled in that job as well. One regular client, impressed by Naomi’s diligence, even hired her as a nanny. After hearing Naomi navigate a medical office’s bureaucracy over the phone, that client also made the suggestion that changed her future. “I really think you should go back to school,” Naomi remembers her client saying.
That nudge, plus Naomi’s grit, opened a new stage: accounting. But then the two fields have more in common than one might think. Like dance, accounting transforms rhythm, balance and precise steps into a structured language that communicates meaning beyond words.
From Spotlights to Spreadsheets
The first in her family to attend college, Naomi grew up in Tucson, Arizona. At age 19, she moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the American Musical and Dance Academy. Dance began as a creative stretch amid learning lines. First, she was given opportunities to perform in shows for free. Soon, though, the shows started paying, and Naomi suddenly had a career in dance.
But then the pandemic hit. Fresh off a Las Vegas tour, she found that any future work had vanished overnight.
At first, she considered an associate’s degree in bookkeeping. “I’ve always been financially inclined,” Naomi says. “When I was in high school, I took a bunch of economics classes, so I’ve always known how to manage money.”
That prudence came in handy, since, even for some of the most accomplished performers, dance rewards the soul more steadily than it fills the bank account. It was while she was working as an Uber driver to fill in gaps in her dance career that she first noticed SMC. “I remember thinking how lucky the kids who studied there were,” Naomi says. But given her financial circumstances and with no one in her family ever having pursued higher education, she doubted she would ever count herself among their number.
That changed in 2022 when Naomi enrolled at SMC as an accounting major. Her professors immediately sensed her focus. “I turned work in early and asked questions,” Naomi says.
She found belonging and purpose, too. Naomi served on the Finance & Accounting Club board, connected with Black Collegians, volunteered during wildfires and helped distribute essentials at MacArthur Park. She even organized a dance event at several locations in North Hollywood and Culver City to benefit The Positive Results Center, a nonprofit that supports those experiencing intimate partner violence, sexual assault and other trauma. “SMC is a community that really cares,” she says—so she fit right in.
Momentum of Mentorship
Two mentors helped reshape Naomi’s path: SMC Accounting Professor Ming Lu and Cerritos College Professor Charles (Charlie) Osaki, founder of Pathway to Success—a yearlong program that provides workshops, guest speakers and mentoring to first-generation community college students in accounting, business and economics.
Taking Intermediate Accounting I, Naomi stumbled on a midterm but emailed Ming so she could learn from her mistakes. “That’s when Professor Lu called me,” she says. “We talked about what went wrong and how to fix it.”
“I could tell she was a serious student just by the questions she asked,” Ming recalls. Her grades improved and, by the time she took his course in Intermediate Accounting II, Naomi earned an A in the course.
Impressed by her drive, Ming invited Naomi to SMC’s Accounting Diversity Conference, an annual event he organizes. He also introduced her to Charlie—formerly West Coast head recruiter for Deloitte—who welcomed her into Pathway to Success.
“What sets Naomi apart is her positive mindset, resilience and willingness to seek advice,” Charlie says. “She demonstrates character, and I don’t use that word lightly. She does the hard work.”
That effort keeps paying off. Naomi was selected for a prestigious American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Legacy Scholarship. She’s also a member of the honor society Phi Theta Kappa.
Summer 2025 brought another leap: Ernst & Young’s Launch Internship. “Within accounting there are so many fields—tax, consulting, audit,” Naomi notes. “Launch gives you a taste of everything so you can figure out your focus.”
Ernst & Young flew interns for trainings and workshops to Atlanta and New Orleans. For Naomi, the experience demystified corporate life. “Nobody in my family is in corporate,” she says. So, meeting professionals—including others who started in entertainment before moving into accounting—“made the path feel real.”
The internship sharpened her focus. “Long term, I want to work in forensic accounting,” she says. “But I plan to start in audit to build a strong foundation.”
Stepping Into Her Future
Having transferred to Cal State Northridge, Naomi is eyeing a future in forensic accounting while navigating the university’s massive campus. “My professors are so sweet,” she says. “And the accounting community is strong and flexible.”
She plans to sit for the CPA exams in about two years after finishing CSUN. “I’d love to work for Ernst & Young,” Naomi says.
Meanwhile, her passion for dance remains undimmed. While at SMC, Naomi won a regional title in an international Dancehall Queen competition and placed top 10 worldwide in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The same discipline that powered her onstage fuels her studies.
“During a study break, I’ll dance for 10 minutes,” she says. And she’s starting to teach classes again. “School has priority, but we ain’t stoppin’ the dancin’,” she adds with a laugh.
Her message to students who don’t fit a box: “I’m a 3.9 GPA accounting student with a Big Four internship—and I’m also a Jamaican-heritage woman who loves to dance and feel free,” she says. “You don’t have to be just one thing.”
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