Law student among state’s top 10 scorers on CPA exam

More than 900 new CPAs were sworn in last November by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy; during the ceremony, Baylor grad Nikki Laing, BBA ’06, was recognized as one of the top 10 highest scorers in the state on the CPA exam.

Laing — now a Baylor Law student — hasn’t followed the most traditional of paths. Halfway through her undergraduate degree, she married and left school to start a business in Texarkana. Her experiences there led her to realize she wanted to go to law school. So, she returned to Baylor — living in Waco with her five-year-old son during the week, heading home to her husband in Texarkana on weekends — until graduating in 2006. A year later, she returned to Baylor for law school, even as her roots remain in Texarkana, where she works part-time for the law firm of Norton & Wood LLP.

“Never have I been associated with someone who is so committed to continuing improvement — improvement of self and improvement of business processes,” said Fred R. Norton, Jr., BBA ’80, JD ’83, partner at the firm and a Baylor alumnus himself. “She has been an inspiration to us. Baylor Law School will be proud to number her among its graduates, and we will be even happier to have her as a member of our firm.”

Sic ’em, Nikki!