Taylor Hildebrand, a sophomore accounting major at the Fox School of Business, has been named a recipient of the 2015-16 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Foundation Two-Year Transfer Scholarship.
Hildebrand is one of 15 students who will receive a $3,000 scholarship. AICPA received more than 700 applications nationally for the AICPA Foundation Two-Year Transfer Scholarship, which is awarded to students at two-year colleges who wish to study accounting upon their transfer to four-year colleges or universities.
A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and at least 30 college credit hours are required of all applicants. The scholarship also requires eight hours per semester of service promoting the accounting profession. Hildebrand hopes to do so at an information table at Fox’s Alter Hall.
“The AICPA is committed to building the certified public accountant pipeline by drawing from a pool of the best and brightest from diverse paths to the profession,” said Joanne Fiore, AICPA Vice President of Professional Media, Pathways and Inclusion.
Hildebrand, a native of Lebanon County, Pa., enrolled at the Fox School of Business for the Fall 2015 semester. She had been studying at Harrisburg Area Community College, in Harrisburg, Pa.
“Fox was the best business school out of all the colleges I was considering,” she said.
Hildebrand first gained an interest in accounting after discussing the career choice with her uncle, who is an accountant. For her scholarship application, she prepared an essay that shared her plans in the future as an accountant.
“I want to have an internship first to explore the career through audit and tax and see what I like best,” Hildebrand said. “Eventually, I want to apply business knowledge to create my own business.”
In her first semester at Fox, Hildebrand joined the student-professional organization Beta Alpha Psi, Temple’s chapter of the scholastic and professional fraternity dedicated to financial information students.
The AICPA Foundation Two-Year Transfer Scholarship is part of the AICPA’s Legacy Scholars program, which was created in 2011 to help students develop the necessary skills for successful careers in accounting. Visit AICPA’s website for more information on this and other scholarships.