“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of a couple of professors at Suffolk, and I always said that when I could, I’d pay it forward. Last week I crossed that off the bucket list and officially started a scholarship fund with the University in their honor.”— Dat Le, CPA, Founder & Managing Partner, Motta Financial

On January 22, 2025, Dat Le walked into what he was told was a small Suffolk University fundraising event. It was not a small event. Dozens of alumni, friends, and faculty had quietly raised $225,000 in advance and were waiting to surprise the woman who had quietly changed all of their careers: Suffolk Associate Dean and Accounting Professor Tracey Riley.

Two new funds were announced that night. The first — the Accounting Winternships Fund — supports the winter internship program Professor Riley built in 2022, which gives Sawyer Business School students three credits for landing a January internship at a Big Four or midsize Boston firm. Of the more than 48 students who’ve gone through the program, almost all have walked out with a full-time offer.

The second is the Tracey Riley Legacy Fund, established by former Suffolk Director of Major Gifts Matt Borrello, which will fund Sawyer Business School faculty research, conference travel, and academic development.

Why Dat showed up

Twelve years before that surprise party, Dat was a finance major figuring out that finance wasn’t the right fit. Two professors at Suffolk — Tracey Riley chief among them — were the ones who pulled him into the accounting program, made the pivot possible, and stayed in his corner long after graduation. He earned his BSBA ’12 and MSA ’13 from Suffolk, became a CPA, and eventually opened his own firm.

At the event, Dat put it more directly than most people are willing to:

“I tell Tracey this all the time. I owe 100% of my success to Suffolk University and to her.”— Dat Le, as quoted in Suffolk University News

Contributing to the winternship fund alongside Dat were Paul Nasser, MBA ’98; Craig King, BSBA ’81; and Stephen MacDonald, MBA ’02 — alumni who, like Dat, traced a real piece of their professional lives back to one classroom on Tremont Street.

What this means at Motta

We talk a lot at Motta about being a tech-forward firm — ProConnect Tax, QuickBooks Online, our internal AI agent ALFRED, an integrated stack that gives our clients their time back. None of that exists without the people who taught the fundamentals first.

Education is the longest-leverage investment a firm like ours can make. The students who win these winternships will be the next generation of CPAs, controllers, and CFOs. Some will work at our clients. Some will work alongside us. A few may end up running firms of their own. We want every one of them to get the same shot Dat got — a professor who took the time, and a program that opened the door.

How to support the Winternship Program

If you’re a Suffolk alum, a Boston-area firm, or a friend of the program, you can contribute directly through the Suffolk Giving page. Read the full story in Suffolk University News — “A Win-Win for Winternships” or see the announcement on Instagram.