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MARSHALL - Will Thomas believes in giving his students practical experience. That's why they have been helping prepare taxes this season.

Thomas teaches accounting at Southwest Minnesota State University and "volunteered" his students to help prepare taxes for Western Community Action's tax clinic.

This is the third year Thomas has assigned his students to help at WCA.

He's done this kind of thing before, so "when I got to Marshall, it was just a matter of putting it together," Thomas said.

He met with Angela Larson, Community & Family Support director for Western Community Action, and together, they developed a plan.

"It would help her and it fits in the learning objectives for the course," Thomas said.

Thomas sees the tax preparation work like any other coursework.

"It reinforces what they've learned in the tax course," he said. "They learn what it means to be a professional, and this puts them in the role of a professional, actually working with a client.

"They have the experience of doing something real," Thomas said. "This is somebody's tax return. They recognize it means a lot to the people they do it for."

The students are learning the lesson well.

"I was a little nervous, I didn't know what to expect," said Alex Rott, a senior accounting major. "After doing it a couple of times, I got into the swing of things. It's a good thing to help us prepare for future jobs."

"I thought it was a kind of a scary thing because I didn't know if I was prepared enough, but overall, it's been a good experience," said Katie Stevens, a junior.

Judy Henderson, a senior finance major, took the news calmly.

"This will probably be the only accounting experience I'll get," she said.

Rott had taken a tax class last semester and learned things, but there's nothing like real-world experience.

"I've learned it's good to help the community," he said. "It's a lot easier to do it electronically than by hand."

"I've learned how to work well with other people and learn to work in stressful situations because you want to do your best," Stevens said. "You learn to be more confident in what you're doing."

Henderson liked "the hands-on experience you can't get in class."

Stevens said taking the course has helped her professionally.

"I really think it has," she said. "It strengthens your knowledge of the subject. It shows you the reality of what it's going to be like, out in the working world."

She will need to be well prepared.

"I was actually trying to get into the IRS," Stevens said.

Rott thinks the tax preparation has been beneficial to him professionally, but he doesn't plan to make a career out of it, and neither does Henderson.

"I'd like more of a job with a steady flow," Rott said.

"I'm going into finance, it's more my niche," Henderson said. "But it's nice to see how the accounting side works."