Denise Heap's Linkedin Analytics

Senior year at TCU, it looked like I would become a Math professor. Full-ride scholarship to a prestigious Yankee university was in the works. A few weeks before graduation, a wrench was thrown into the works. The Fulbright-Hays Commission notified me that I had won a coveted place at the university in Augsburg. Germany. The award was to work on eventual PhD in "Humor in German Literature," specifically as it relates to political humor. Ludwig Thoma, Frank Wedekind, those were my guys. Change of plans: I would become a German professor. Everything seemed on track to achieve that goal. Working on my Master's at Rice and took a 3-day job at a German-owned oil company in Houston. CEO was the only German-speaker in the US company. The Chief Accountant asked if I would consider working part-time while studying at Rice. They would teach me accounting. [Old joke: Mathies can do accounting, accountants can't do Math.] Did I ever learn accounting! This little company had eight entities, which included four different year-ends and four different corporation types. That mess had to be consolidated. We also had to undergo a full external audit every year, since German parentco was a multi-billion dollar concern. We lived with Peat Marwick, now KPMG, in our department. For the next mumble-mumble years, I managed to get one job after another, working as Controller and CFO for American subsidiaries of German companies. Even when I formed a translation company, even when it was doing well, clients would learn I was accountant and that would be added to our SOW. Once I fell into the White Rose story (July 1994), trajectory changed inalterably. Yes, I still paid bills with accounting. But researching and writing their story, warts and all, never let go. It has not been easy. Lots of money goes to writers who tell the national mythology, who don't dig deep. My legacy to the field of Holocaust Studies: Giving voice to the real people who were scared out of their minds, yet who still had the (fearful) courage to resist. Who wrote strong words. Painted graffiti on Nazi monuments with tar-based paint that wouldn't wash off. I speak for them. I tell their stories. I ensure they will not be forgotten. Not on my watch. And I'm always looking for people who are willing to join the journey. Opening the door to the world of heroes...