June Harless is our $250 Associate Degree Scholarship winner for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. June graduated from high school 2 years early and became a college student at the age of 16. She currently attends Grossmont College and aims to earn her Associates Degree in either Accounting or Economics. Her plan is to transfer to a local state university to achieve a baccalaureate degree in one of these fields.

In addition to a full academic load, June also makes time to volunteer in various community projects. Education is very important to June, as this is a rope that will pull her out of hardship and advance her into a future filled with hope and financial stability.

Keely Palla is one of our $500 Undergraduate Scholarship winners. She is majoring in Accounting from the University of San Diego and is expecting to graduate by May 2017. Through five full-time semesters, she has been able to maintain an impressive overall GPA of 3.97.

In addition to her academic success, Keely is also an active member in the accounting community. She represented San Diego and Deloitte at the National Conference, and her other work and effort into networking has culminated in an internship for Summer 2016.

Jessica Pettenuzzo is our second $500 Undergraduate Degree Scholarship winner and is also an AFWA National Scholarship winner.

Her goal is to graduate by next year with a major in Accounting and a minor in Psychology. In addition to a full academic schedule (taking 18 credits per semester), Ms. Pettenuzzo works to support herself and still manages to find time to volunteer at various organizations and associations.

We admire Ms. Pettenuzzo’s “can do” attitude – a person who is not afraid of hard work and is willing to take on as much responsibility as she can because to ensure her successful future. We believe this award would greatly help her as she pursues her academic endeavors.

Cori Hoch is our $750 Master’s Degree Scholarship winner. Ms. Hoch is a full-time professional who is pursuing her MBA specializing in Organizational Leadership with the eventual goal of sitting for the CPA and CMA certification exams.

Cori recognizes that today’s organizations need leaders who can provide financial sustainability as they carry out their mission and business objectives and she aims to be such a leader. As a self-supporting student, we believe this award would greatly help Ms. Hoch as she pursues her academic endeavors.