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Sarah hooper, CPA “The pertinent question is not how to do things right, but how to find the right things to do.” ~Unknown


Days after the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in 1995 changed Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a different kind of tragedy forever changed Sarah Hooper, CPA. Hooper, an audit senior with Peters &


Chandler, P.C. in Oklahoma City was only 12 at the time. Hooper’s brother, Josh, suffered a massive


seizure in the middle of the night. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with a large brain tumor and multiple smaller tumors. “He had an aggressive cancer, requiring


an aggressive treatment approach,” Hooper said. “Although it was still experimental, chemotherapy applied to his brain cells was his only way to fight the illness.” Unfortunately, after his third treatment,


Josh’s condition worsened and his brain began to swell rapidly. He passed away in August 1995 at the age of 16. “I didn’t quite feel like I fit in many times due to my age, size and personality,” said Hooper, the youngest of four siblings. “But my oldest brother, Josh, had a way of making me feel included.” “My grief process was difficult and


mostly done in solitude, with no help from professionals or organizations,” Hooper said. “Even to this day, 20 years after his death, I am dealing with the permanent effects of not having anyone to guide me through the stages


of grief as experienced by a child.” Last year, Hooper realized she wanted to


help children cope with suffering after losing a loved one. She turned to Calm Waters Center for


Children and Families in Oklahoma City, an organization that helps children and families with grief caused by death, divorce and other significant losses. Hooper became a grief support group facilitator for children ages 8 to 11.


“I attended a two-day training seminar that


required a large amount of vulnerability in the trainees’ own experience of loss,” Hooper said. “I learned a lot about what I never had the opportunity to learn when I was a 12-year- old girl, trying to figure out how to deal with the loss of my brother and companion.” Hooper, an OSCPA member for one


year, is a member of the Young Accounting Professionals Committee. Additionally, she is a volunteer for People’s Church and the Ronald McDonald House. “I am so blessed to be able to be a part of


this organization to help young adolescents and children through my own life experience and lessons,” Hooper said.


Sarah’s Trail mix


If I weren’t a CPA, I would be: A world travel guide or travel book author…or a brain surgeon


You’ll never catch me wearing: A two-piece swimsuit


My favorite app is: Kindle for iPhone


What snack do you crave late at night? Little Debbie chocolate anything


18 CPAFOCUS March/April 2016


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