Roxane May is living proof that a university experience can shape an entire future. Roxane, who was born and raised in St. Louis, is a first-generation college graduate who worked her way through school and graduated from UMSL when she was nearly 40 years old. She met her soon-to-be best friend and future husband along the way. Soon after tying the knot while still a student, she realized that married life would ultimately lead to a career, although she may not have envisioned at the time how it would ultimately grow.
"After we got married in 1993, Earl decided to take on a small hustle – cutting grass, outside of working at United Parcel Service," she said. "This turned into May Lawn Care, and at that moment, I knew our personal tax return was now a business tax return."
“The education I received and community I experienced at University of Missouri – St. Louis made all the difference as I prepared for my life journey.”
To handle the new business’ IRS filings, Roxane took the beginning tax class at H&R Block, then worked for the company for a year before striking out on her own. Roxane started by handling the tax returns of family and friends. Then, after earning a degree in accounting in 2000, she started adding additional streams of income in bookkeeping and payroll processing while working a full-time job and raising two children. Since those early days, her business has been rebranded as Reliable Accounting, growing to seven employees, 30 payroll clients, 15 bookkeeping clients and more than 350 personal and corporate tax returns.
When she’s not crunching the numbers, Roxane is pounding the pavement in her running shoes, riding the air as a skydiver and parasailer and hanging on for a ride on the zip line.
