Accounting
10 High School Students Receive AICPA Accounting Scholarships
The AICPA Foundation High School Scholarship provides $2,000 to up to 10 students who have taken Advanced High School Accounting and who intend to continue their accounting studies at an accredited college or university.
Aug. 19, 2020
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Foundation granted $20,000 in academic scholarships to 10 high school students who intend to major in accounting.
The AICPA Foundation High School Scholarship provides $2,000 to up to 10 students who have taken Advanced High School Accounting and who intend to continue their accounting studies at an accredited college or university.
“By starting their accounting studies in high school, these students have a huge head start on their journey to becoming CPAs,” said Yvonne Hinson, CPA, PhD, senior director for student and professional pathways and academic in residence, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. “The Advanced High School Accounting program continues to evolve and prove itself to be a great way to introduce students to the accounting profession at an early age. The AICPA Foundation is thrilled to reward these incredible young students.”
Recipients of this year’s scholarships, their high schools and the institutions they will be attending are:
- Claire Andries, Waunakee Community High School, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Sydney Cherney, Farragut High School, East Tennessee State University
- Olivia Carol Demars, Meridian High School, Brigham Young University
- Sarah Ferkler, North Caroline High School, University of Maryland
- Alyssa Hadding, Warren Township High School, Illinois State University
- Ryane William Hoffman, Manhattan High School, Kansas State University
- Jack Andrew Horoho, Warsaw Community High School, Purdue University – West Lafayette
- Thomas Lutter, Lower Moreland High School, University of Delaware
- Daniel Molyneaux, Kiski Area High School, University of Pittsburgh
- Megan Wegner, Port Washington High School, University of Wisconsin Madison
Advanced High School Accounting is part of the AICPA’s Accounting Program for Building the Profession (APBP), which trains high school educators to teach higher-level accounting curricula. Research shows that taking an accounting course in high school increases the probability that students will major in accounting in college.
The AICPA continues to enhance APBP, bringing on additional educators to teach accounting to a greater number of students. In 2019, the program offered its first conference, giving new teachers an opportunity to teach the advanced accounting curriculum while also providing existing accounting teachers the opportunity to interact with others and deepen their knowledge and skills.
APBP is planning a pilot program to leverage current advanced accounting curriculum teachers as ambassadors for the program to grow it within their states. In response to COVID-19, the program also developed an online version of its annual exam to allow participating students the ability to gain college credit for their high school accounting course.
The AICPA also continues to update its online accounting and financial literacy game “Bank on It,” adding new questions, creating an advanced version for high school accounting students and rolling out a new version for college students.
In addition to the Advanced High School Accounting course, the AICPA has many programs designed to increase the pipeline of talented accounting students entering the profession and earning their CPA license. Increasingly these programs are targeting students at the high school level, including the long-running StartHere,GoPlaces. program which provides resources for high school educators and students.
The AICPA’s ThisWayToCPA website educates college students about the opportunities a career in accounting affords and provides them with resources and guidance as they enter the profession. The AICPA also offers many scholarship opportunities for accounting students throughout their academic careers.
The AICPA Foundation will again be offering scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year. Students interested in receiving one of the AICPA Foundation High School Scholarships should review the eligibility criteria and submit their applications through StartHere,GoPlaces starting on December 1, 2020.