{"691809":{"#nid":"691809","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Combining Computing and Business: A Q\u0026A with Hunter Richardson","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Hunter Richardson, pairing computer science with business administration made sense. Building on his interest in data systems and accounting, the 2026 Georgia Tech alumnus saw double majoring as a solid foundation for understanding how technology can be applied across industries.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERichardson begins as an audit associate at KPMG in October. In this Q\u0026amp;A, he explains why he chose to double major, how the two fields complement each other, and how his computing background has shaped his career plans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat drew you to study computing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI knew technology was, is, and will continue to change the world. To become a leader in any industry, I felt it was crucial to understand the literal 1s and 0s of how the world operates.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat inspired you to pursue business administration as a second major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI found the applications of computer science most interesting in this field. The intersection of accounting and database systems fascinated me.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat influenced your decision to pursue a double major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI knew I wanted to double major by the end of my first year after one of my first business classes and officially added it in my third year.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do your two majors complement each other?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessionally, it made my recruiting cycle incredibly easy. I secured a full-time role after one interview. Academically, CS coursework provided a solid foundation across all technical topics, allowing me to focus on more conceptual aspects of business technologies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you share a specific project, class, or experience where you\u2019ve combined both fields?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMGT 4046 Data Analytics in Accounting\u003C\/em\u003E. Many of my colleagues struggled with the coding language and syntax required to succeed in this course. However,\u0026nbsp;I had used Python and SQL for four years by then, so the course was incredibly enjoyable for me.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow have you managed the challenges\u0026nbsp;of balancing two majors?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe biggest challenge was simply managing the larger number of credits, but with proper planning for each semester, no course load was too unbearable.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to students considering a computing-related double major?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECombining CS with another field gives you the opportunity to become a liaison in any field you find interesting, which inherently makes you more valuable on the team by bridging communication gaps when technology doesn\u0027t meet industry needs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs there anything unexpected you\u2019ve gained from combining computing with another field?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore I was officially a double major, I had considered reducing CS to a minor, because I felt a little burned out after three semesters of intro-level classes. But by \u201cpadding\u201d my remaining seven semesters with other classes, the burnout feeling decreased, and I found myself enjoying more complex electives like \u003Cem\u003ECS 4641 Machine Learning\u003C\/em\u003E and \u003Cem\u003ECS 4400 Intro to Database Systems\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor Hunter Richardson, pairing computer science with business administration made sense. Building on his interest in data systems and accounting, the 2026 Georgia Tech alumnus saw double majoring as a solid foundation for understanding how technology can be applied across industries.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For Hunter Richardson, pairing computer science with business administration made sense. Building on his interest in data systems and accounting, the 2026 Georgia Tech alumnus saw double majoring as a solid foundation for understanding how technology can "}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-08-19 16:05:42","changed_gmt":"2026-09-01 15:29:04","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680920":{"id":"680920","type":"image","title":"hunter2.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787155563","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 16:06:03","changed":"1787155563","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 16:06:03","alt":"hunter richardson","file":{"fid":"265253","name":"hunter2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/hunter2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/hunter2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24888,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/hunter2.jpg?itok=UO4tiKN3"}},"680921":{"id":"680921","type":"image","title":"hunterrichardson1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1787155563","gmt_created":"2026-08-19 16:06:03","changed":"1787155563","gmt_changed":"2026-08-19 16:06:03","alt":"Hunter Richardson","file":{"fid":"265254","name":"hunterrichardson1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/hunterrichardson1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/19\/hunterrichardson1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":34622,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/19\/hunterrichardson1.jpg?itok=Ma1G02Kb"}}},"media_ids":["680920","680921"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}