AICPA announces 2015-16 John L. Carey Scholarship Award recipients

The AICPA announced on Tuesday that five students have been named recipients of the 2015-2016 AICPA John L. Carey Scholarship Award. The one-year scholarship award, part of the AICPA’s Legacy Scholars Program, is given to students from liberal arts and other non-traditional business backgrounds who are pursuing graduate accounting degrees and plan to become CPAs.

The winners are (in alphabetical order):

• Tegyanem Gizaw, University of Missouri - Kansas City
• John Jakmides, The Ohio State University
• Sayaka Ross, San Diego State University
• Charles Walper, University of Texas - Austin
• Hayley Wilk, The University of Michigan

Each recipient received a scholarship for $5,000 to help tuition and other expenses. The funding is provided by a contribution to the AICPA Foundation in honor of John Carey, who retired from the AICPA in 1969 after a 40-year career with the organization. Carey served as administrative vice president, executive director, and editor and publisher of the Journal of Accountancy. Carey was known for encouraging students from all backgrounds to become CPAs throughout his career.

“The John L. Carey Scholarship was created with the idea in mind that there are multiple different paths to the profession and this year’s recipients underscore that point,” stated AICPA Foundation President and former AICPA Chairman of the Board Randy Fletchall. “These hard-working individuals will enrich the profession with their unique perspectives and serve their employers and clients for many years to come.”

Applicants are chosen based on academic achievement, leadership and commitment to pursuing a CPA license. Applicants must also be full-time graduate-level students for the upcoming academic year. 

The John L. Carey Scholarship Award is one of four scholarship awards available through the AICPA Legacy Scholars program. The program was created in 2011 and awards recipients a one-year AICPA scholarship while helping to develop the soft skills needed to sustain a successful career Scholarship recipients perform eight hours of service each semester planning and executing events on campus to advocate for the accounting profession. The AICPA Legacy Scholars program will provide more than 100 scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year, totaling more than $485,000 for students from all across the nation.

The application deadline for the 2016-17 AICPA Legacy Scholarship is April 1, 2016. For more information, head to the AICPA's site here.