Switching Lanes: From Food Trucks to Tax Law

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He pivoted to tax and in 2019, while working as a manager for Andersen, Norling learned about USF’s Master of Legal Studies in Taxation from several colleagues. “They highly recommended the program,” he recalls, adding, “USF offers a tremendous amount of flexibility for students who work full-time.”

That flexibility was key. Norling balanced his job, school, and family by earning his degree online. He appreciated the supportive faculty who were willing to work with students juggling multiple commitments. “There were times when I was busy with work that week, but my professors were willing to accommodate me. As a student, I had everything I needed from the program.”

What stood out most for Norling was the breadth of USF’s tax curriculum. “I often tell people that the MLST is tailored to each student’s unique interests because there’s such a range of classes you can take. I was interested in corporate and international tax, and USF had classes that were very specific to what I wanted to learn. But you could also be broad by studying a little bit of estate tax or gift tax or corporate tax.”

Today, as Head of Finance and Tax at Theta Network, a decentralized cloud for AI, media, and entertainment, Norling applies what he learned daily. One example: writing memos. “I recently had to draft a legal memo about our taxes, and I learned exactly how to write that type of memo at USF. In the program, you become a better writer by learning each of the critical steps for memos, briefs, and legal analyses.”