NJCPA Awards $190,000 in Scholarships to 40 High School and College Students

Event Also Celebrated More Than 30 Newly Licensed New Jersey CPAs

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) awarded $190,000 in scholarships to 40 New Jersey-based high school and college students on April 24 at the Pines Manor in Edison. The NJCPA Scholarship Fund distributed 13 awards to high school students and 27 awards to college students out of a collective pool of more than 220 applications.

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

This year’s high school recipients attend the following high schools: Carteret High School, Kearny High School, Marlboro High School, Morristown High School, Monmouth Regional High School, Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, St. Rose High School, Wall Township High School, Washington Township High School and Wayne Hills High School. High school award winners were college-bound seniors in high school who intend to major in accounting or obtain a concentration in accounting.

The Deloitte Foundation funded four scholarships for college students pursuing accounting degrees and three NJCPA Scholars Awards to high school students. Now for the fourth year, the NJCPA selected and distributed the $1,500 awards to students at select high schools in under-resourced communities in New Jersey. This year’s recipients attended Carteret High School, Marlboro High School and St. Rose High School.

College student recipients attend the following colleges and universities: Brookdale Community College, College of New Jersey, Essex County College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Georgian Court University, New Jersey City University, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Stockton University and William Paterson University. College winners were 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.

NJCPA’s 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).

“Encouraging the next generation of CPAs and accounting professionals should always be top of mind. It’s a pleasure to be recognizing such outstanding students,” said Angela Garofalo, CPA, CFP®, president of the NJCPA Scholarship Fund and a partner at Citrin Cooperman. 

Firm and company benefactors for the scholarships included CohnReznick; Deloitte Foundation; EisnerAmper; Holman Frenia Allison; ForvisMazars; Smolin, Lupin & Co; and Withum. 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 E. Muniz, CPA
• In Honor of NJCPA Past President Frank Boutillette, CPA
• In Honor of NJCPA Past President Michael A. Polito. CPA
• In Honor of Ralph & MaryLee Evangelista, CPAs
• In Honor of Valerie, CPA, and Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA, D.C. (inactive), former NJCPA CEO Executive Director
• In Memory of Frederick and Lenore Horn (two awards)
• In Memory of NJCPA Past President John F. Dailey Jr. (two awards)
• NJCPA Council of Past Presidents
• WilkinGuttenplan in memory of Jules C. Frankel

As part of the celebrations this year, newly licensed CPAs in the state of New Jersey were honored with certificates for their dedication and perseverance in achieving their license. More than 30 new licensees attended the event.

“It’s wonderful to be able to support such deserving students who are just starting out in their journey to become accounting professionals and to honor those individuals who have remained steadfast and achieved their CPA license,” added Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director of the NJCPA.

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-four NJCPA members were on hand to read essays and conduct interviews to select the scholarship recipients.

For a complete list of this year’s winners in each scholarship category, go to njcpa.org/scholarship.