David Crumbaugh watched his mother balance love, family life and hard work so well in a single-parent household that it inspired him to become an accounting student at Indiana University East.

So well that the 1993 graduate has achieved notable successes in a variety of roles – as a certified public accountant, as a consultant, as a writer, as a motivational speaker and more.

So well that he feels compelled now to help other students reach their dreams after being raised in single-parent environments.

Crumbaugh is doing that by pledging $150,000 to provide scholarships for accounting majors with a preference given to students who live in Wayne County and come from single-parent households.

The resident of Belton, Texas, also has pledged $100,000 to the School of Business and Economics to help with accreditation expenses.

“It shaped my work effort,” Crumbaugh said about growing up in Richmond. “I know the struggles that single parents go through. No one had gone to college in my family before.”

He found a family environment at IU East, where he thrived with business instructors who cared as much about his classes as they did his career.

“They really gave me my start,” he said about those who nurtured him on the way to earning a bachelor’s of science in Business Administration.

Crumbaugh provided this example of the extra-special help: Whenever he needed educational or career advice, he could pick up a phone and pick the brain of one of his instructors, who was an accounting professional.

He has come a long way as a CPA: In January, Crumbaugh was named president and managing partner of Rick C. Reed & Company, where he has worked for 20 years. He became a partner in 2015.

It was natural to make the $250,000 in pledges now: “It has been something I wanted to do. The timing was right.”

The only real question was how to make them become reality.

Fortunately, that answer was easy because he simply had to reach out to Rae Marie Buchholz, who is Director of Gift Development at IU East.

The two have been close friends since they attended Richmond High School together in the late 1980s.

“Having David support and represent IU East is a true honor,” Buchholz said. “He is the embodiment of what IU East students are and do. He is intelligent, caring, motivated and loyal. He makes things happen and never fails to lift people and bring them with him as he moves upward and onward.”

The positive feelings are mutual for Crumbaugh, who said Buchholz is a testament to the culture of forward-thinking leaders at IU East.

Crumbaugh visited campus recently along with his wife, Samantha, during a trip back to attend a high-school reunion.

“Basically we had two buildings when I attended. It blows my mind to see the growth,” Crumbaugh said. “It’s great for the community and for the students.”

Along that line of thought, he expects new Chancellor Dennis Rome will push IU East to greater successes. They two visited at a recent basketball game.

“He has got a lot of great ideas,” Crumbaugh said. “His energy and enthusiasm are good for campus. There are some good times ahead.”

Crumbaugh returns when he can to Indiana to visit close family. His son lives in Columbus and a brother lives in the Cambridge City area.

He purposely chooses to live in a smaller city like Belton, which has a population of about 24,000:

“The town we live in is a small Richmond,” Crumbaugh said.

He grew passionate about accounting after taking a class during his sophomore year of high school: “It just clicked. I knew I was going to college. I wanted to be behind a desk.”

Being an accountant, he said, is far from the staid image that has often been portrayed in movies and books – someone sitting before an adding machine while wearing a green visor and having pencils protruding from a shirt pocket.

In fact, it excites him to help clients with their taxes, estates and trusts. It excites him to go into classes and talk about his job. It excites him to keep up with new laws.

“I love it. Something new is always coming down the pike, how it applies to customers,” he said. “The economy is ever changing and business is ever changing.”

Crumbaugh stays busy in many other roles. He is a director at large of the Texas Society of CPAs. He’s also a writer, a consultant, a motivational speaker and a professional trainer.

He also stays in contact with his IU roots by serving as treasurer of the Hoosier Ticket Project. The organization helps provide tickets for children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend Indiana University sporting events. “We get tickets donated for a lot of sports,” he said. “It’s cool to see it.”

He may be in Texas, but his sports loyalties definitely are at home in Indiana: “My allegiances came with me.”