University of Utah : S.J. Quinney College of Law

John Piele

Evening Circulation Assistant

Accounting Specialist

Accounting Specialist John Piele has a long history at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. Prior to assuming his present position as an assistant to Head Accountant Virginia Beane and Director of Administrative Services Kathleen Morgan in July 2007, he worked as a Circulation Desk Attendant before accepting the position as Evening Circulation Supervisor for the Law Library. The three years at the library helped to familiarize Piele with the faculty, staff, students, and student organizations that are a continuing part of his position as an Accounting Specialist. “I enjoy my new position, as I will admit it is more challenging, but I do miss the interaction with faculty and students on the circulation desk.”  

Piele affirms that the people are the best part of his job, noting that “The students, faculty, staff, and administration all make for a great working environment.”  Surprisingly, he says that accounting takes not only attention to detail and being comfortable with numbers, but a human touch as well. “There’s a lot of interchange involved in trying to find out what people need,” he explains.
 
A Salt Lake City native and graduate of West High, Piele expects to graduate with a B.S. in economics in December 2007.  After graduation, he plans to continue working at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, while likely pursuing a master’s degree in the same field. 

Perhaps consistent with his field of study, Piele quips that his hobbies include “plotting world domination and monopolistic business planning.” He lists his greatest inspirations as certain captains of industry and champions of free enterprise, including Ayn Rand, John D. Rockefeller, Sam Walton, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. “Everyone has a problem with monopolies, except for the monopolist. The trick is to be the monopolist. These individuals showed vision and innovation to come out on top,” he says.

 When not working, Piele can be found “any place with a strong cup of coffee and decent conversation” – and perhaps a copy of his favorite book, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

Asked to identify his greatest achievement, Piele doesn’t skip a beat.  “I’m still working on that.  I’ll get back to you when I’m done.”