New Jersey Society of CPAs Awards $168,000 in Accounting Scholarships

38 College and High School Students Receive Awards

The New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) awarded $168,000 in scholarships to 38 New Jersey-based high school and college students on April 25 at the Pines Manor in Edison. Out of 180 applicants, the NJCPA Scholarship Fund distributed scholarships to 25 college students and 13 high school students.

The college students each received between $2,000 and $6,500, while the high school students each received $1,500 awards.

The college winners had to be accounting students at New Jersey colleges or universities who are currently in their junior year or in their senior year and entering an accounting-related graduate program. This year’s recipients attend the following colleges and universities: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Middlesex County College, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Stevens Institute of Technology and Stockton University.

The college awards also included Minority Scholarships in association with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the National Association of Black Accountants – Northern New Jersey (NABA-NNJ).

The high school award winners had to be college-bound seniors in high school who intend to major in accounting or obtain a concentration in accounting. They attend the following high schools: Lacey Township High School, Marlboro High School, Middletown High School North, Montville Township High School, Shawnee High School, Washington Township High School, West Orange High School and Williamstown High School.

The Deloitte Foundation funded scholarships for five high school and college students for the third year. These $1,500 awards are distributed to graduating seniors from specific high schools in New Jersey whose student populations are racially or ethnically diverse, have been admitted to college and are pursuing accounting degrees as well as students already in college pursuing accounting pathways. This year’s participating high schools were Dwight Morrow High School (two winners) and Hudson County School of Technology, while the colleges are Kean University and Montclair State University.

“It is a pleasure to be distributing these scholarships to such worthy students. The awards are a reminder of how important it is to support our youth and the next generation of accounting professionals,” said Angela Garofalo, CPA, CFP®, incoming president of the NJCPA Scholarship Fund and a partner at Citrin Cooperman. “Many scholarship winners have gone on to accomplish great things in our profession.”

“We are incredibly proud of each of these students in their academic endeavors and are pleased to assist them in their accounting journey,” said Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director of the NJCPA. “We are especially grateful for the generosity of our members and firm/company benefactors to be able to distribute these awards.”

The scholarships also had the following “in-name-of” awards, honoring former and current NJCPA members:

• Bowman & Company in memory of John F. Dailey Jr.
• Bowman & Company in memory of Lisa Donahue
• In Honor of NJCPA Past President Brad Muniz
• In Honor of NJCPA Past President Frank Boutillette
• In Honor of NJCPA Past President Michael A. Polito
• In Honor of Ralph Albert Thomas, former NJCPA CEO & Executive Director
• In Memory of Frederick and Lenore Horn (two awards)
• In Memory of NJCPA Past President John F. Dailey Jr.
• NJCPA Council of Past Presidents
• WilkinGuttenplan in memory of Jules C. Frankel
• WithumSmith+Brown in honor of NJCPA Past President Frank Boutillette

The NJCPA Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $7 million to high school and college students since its inception in the 1960s. The fund has supported more than 1,700 New Jersey students on their way to becoming CPAs. Scholarship winners had to meet criteria regarding academic performance, standardized test scores (if taken), essays and personal interviews. Eighty NJCPA members were on hand to read essays and conduct interviews during the selection process.

A complete list of this year’s winners in each scholarship category is available here.