Holly Caldwell Ratwani
Holly Caldwell RatwaniAssociate Professor of Business Administration
George S. Aldhizer II Department of Economics and Business Administration
“It’s the only place I would have considered teaching.” Holly Caldwell Ratwani returned to Bridgewater College as a professor in August of 2002 after working for several years in a Roanoke public accounting office. She said she worked “insane hours,” some days from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. She needed more balance in her life, and becoming a faculty member at Bridgewater was ideal.
“I had such fond memories of Bridgewater,” she said.
Although a commuter student from Stuarts Draft, Va., Ratwani still felt involved in Bridgewater’s close-knit community. She loved accounting, but the classes that stood out the most were those that “got me to step out of my comfort zone and didn’t involve number crunching.” Among her favorites were introduction to western music with Dr. Gary Adams, which was “an eye-opener,” biology of plants with Dr. Michael Hill and art history with Nan Covert. About Covert, Ratwani commented, “She was so passionate about teaching and about the material that it was infectious.”
After graduating in 1999 with a B.S. in business administration, Ratwani attended graduate school at Virginia Tech, obtaining a master of accountancy in taxation degree. She is licensed in Virginia as a certified public accountant and completed her MBA from the University of Maryland University College in 2006.
One of her personal goals is to become a certified forensic accountant. A growing field due to recent corporate accounting scandals, forensic accounting uncovers, investigates, and attempts to eliminate fraud, along with increasing oversight and transparency of financial statements.
Often giving personal attention to students who need assistance or lack the confidence necessary for success in the classroom, Ratwani was deeply touched by a heartfelt thank-you note she received from a student. She describes her favorite moments in teaching as “the light bulb moments” – when she knows the students are starting to understand the material.
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