Paul Wright | Grant Thornton

I’m supported at Grant Thornton

I didn’t always feel set up for success in my career. I wasn’t being given opportunities to do the work I loved most, I felt like my interests weren’t valued and I just didn’t have the support I needed. But at Grant Thornton, I found everything I wanted and more.

I’m pursuing my passions

At Grant Thornton, I’m able to achieve my dreams. My team values my contributions, and they supported me when I expressed interest in working exclusively on benefit plan audits — something I wasn’t getting before. I’m excited to have the opportunity to do the work I love in other places, too. I leave for a rotational program in Bangalore in a few months, where I can’t wait to learn, share my knowledge, meet new people and travel — while representing myself and communities that are important to me: LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.

“Grant Thornton lets me have it all in and outside of work. I don’t have to choose between a culture that empowers and work that excites me.”

— Paul Wright

Director, Audit & Assurance Services

I use my left and right brain

I knew I wanted to work somewhere that values diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Here, I can do my accounting work full-time and pursue my passion for DE&I by being a leader in Equality GT, the firm’s LGBTQ+ and allies business resource group (BRG), and participating in the Disability Alliance BRG. One of my favorite contributions at the firm was with Equality GT when we partnered with the onePULSE Foundation on a presentation to the entire firm. It’s so cool to be able to run with ideas that mean something to me and make an impact.

I’m a social butterfly

Here, I’m able to balance my work with my social life. Grant Thornton understands everyone’s lives are different and offers me the flexibility I need to maintain the lifestyle I want. I can build my day around my social plans — like meeting friends in Capitol Hill, my Seattle neighborhood, or getting donuts with my nephew in the morning and still get my work done. It doesn’t have to be 8–5.