Student Excellence Recognized at National Association of Black Accountants Event
Hartford, CT (5/6/2008) - The National Association of Black Accountants Greater Hartford Chapter held their first annual "Night of Stars" event on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at the Aetna Corporate headquarters in Hartford, CT. This event was held to honor scholarship recipients of the NABA essay writing scholarship contest as well as to recognize outstanding members, community citizens, and corporate partners. The keynote speaker for the evening was Gwendolyn Sykes, Chief Financial Officer at Yale University. Prior to joining Yale University, Ms. Sykes was formerly CFO of NASA and has been recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the top women leaders in her field (2006). Ms. Sykes' motto of "reach one, teach one" and in some cases "grab one, drag one" was funny and inspiring as she encouraged the audience to mentor and give back.
NABA awarded $8,000 to students at one of Southern and Western New England's two or four year colleges and universities. The scholarship awards were open to both undergraduate and graduate candidates.
Faina Dookh of Stamford, CT is a junior majoring in Accounting. Ms. Dookh was awarded a NABA scholarship sponsored by Aetna. Ms. Dookh is an excellent student who was recently admitted to the School of Business. She has earned Dean's List every semester at UConn and has nearly a 4.0 GPA.
Aetna also sponsored the scholarship awarded to Jarvis Graham, a freshman in the Academic Center for Entering Students (ACES) program. As an undeclared major, Mr. Graham is exploring all the programs and majors at UConn, including a major in Business.
Erica Law's scholarship was sponsored by Cigna. Ms. Law entered the University as an Accounting major. She is currently in the Honors Program, a rigorously academic program for high achieving students. Ms. Law has nearly a 4.0 GPA and has also earned Dean's List every semester at UConn. She will be participating in an internship this summer at Deloitte & Touche in Hartford, CT.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers sponsored the scholarship received by senior Accounting major Kaelyn Papillo. Ms. Papillo who is graduating in May 2008, transferred to UConn in her sophomore year. When asked about her transfer experience, she says "it was the best decision she ever made". During her 3 years at UConn, Ms. Papillo has studied abroad in Italy, earned Dean's List every semester and has served on the executive board of the Multicultural Business Society, a business student organization. Upon graduating, Ms. Papillo will work for PwC in Boston, MA and plans to complete the UConn Master of Science in Accounting degree program.
PHOTO: (L to R) Cigna representative; Jamie Smith '02 MS ACCT; Erica Law '09, Jeffery D. Kennerly, Director of Membership (NABA)
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