James E. McBride admits to being a bit annoyed at having to take nine credits of religion and nine credits of philosophy as a Saint Vincent College student. At the time, Mr. McBride wanted all business classes.

“But the reality is that the religion and philosophy classes gave me depth as a person. If you don’t have depth as a person you won’t succeed,” he said. “Corporate America today is not interested in automatons, but in well-rounded people. Business classes are only one tool in the tool box. The depth comes from taking these other classes.”

After graduating from Saint Vincent with a double major in economics and accounting, Mr. McBride began his career at Ernst and Young and is now a senior manager in the Transaction Advisory Services group. His work includes providing assistance for clients in acquisitions (purchasing other companies), which includes reviewing tax returns, financial documents, and interviewing company employees to make sure the transaction goes smoothly.

Mr. McBride is a certified public accountant and holds a law degree from Duquesne University. “I started at Ernst and Young in 1992 and left for two years to work at a law firm,” said Mr. McBride. But the lure of transactions and taxes was too much and he returned to Ernst and Young after 1997.

“If you want to practice tax work the big four accounting firms are the places to do it,” he said. “Our clients are the leaders in their industries, and our work is very challenging and of the highest quality.”

Mr. McBride spent most of his Ernst and Young career in the Pittsburgh office before transferring to Manhattan. He and his wife Jeanie recently transferred to Detroit.

They met up with several of his friends he met while attending Saint Vincent during a reunion trip to Las Vegas.

“Some of my best friends are those friends I made at Saint Vincent,” he added.