Accounting’s Yenifer Perez recognized for academic achievement

Monday, July 8, 2019

Path to graduate degree a little easier with PCAOB scholarship

Oklahoma State University accounting graduate student Yenifer Perez has been named a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholar, which recognizes outstanding students in accredited accounting degree programs in U.S. colleges and universities with a $10,000 scholarship.

Perez, who graduated from OSU in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Spears School of Business, is now pursuing a master’s in accounting at OSU. The PCAOB recognizes academic excellence and financial need.

“I was really excited because I was going to have to get loans to get my master’s and that was going to put a lot of extra pressure on me to find a way to pay for books and other costs,” said Perez, who was born in Colombia and raised in Chicago. “This really relieves a lot of stress for me and my family.”

The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies to protect investors through the release of independent audit reports. The board was established as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and is funded by penalties paid by companies fined for violating federal securities laws. The PCAOB Scholars Program encourages academically talented students to pursue careers in accounting.

“The PCAOB Scholars Program is merit-based and having an OSU student selected speaks highly of the student’s accomplishments,” said Dr. Audrey Gramling, professor and head of the School of Accounting. “The financial impact that the program has on a student can be life changing. We are honored to participate in this program and so proud of our student recipients.”

Along with Perez, PCAOB scholars have been named from the OSU School of Accounting in 2018, 2017, 2014 and 2013.

Perez, who graduated with a 3.9 grade point average, tutored students through the School of Accounting’s Collaborative for Academic Excellence (ACE) program and was active in Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor society for accounting and finance students, and the Latino Business Students Association.

“Yenifer is a wonderful student and a valued member of the School of Accounting’s ACE team, which tutors students enrolled in OSU accounting courses,” said instructor of professional practice Sarah Johnson. “She is well-deserving of the PCAOB scholarship, and I am proud of how she will represent our university throughout her professional career.”

A first-generation college student, Perez is also the first in her family to graduate from high school.

“Of five children in my family I am the first to graduate from high school and the first to go to college,” Perez said. “I grew up in a rough area of Chicago where there were a lot of gangs and stuff and unfortunately it affected my family.

Perez said doing well in school was important to her despite the challenge of holding down a part-time job while carrying a full class load.

“I used to work 30 hours a week while taking six classes and it was a lot of work. I wanted to get good grades and it means a lot to be recognized for that,” she said.

To learn more about the PCAOB Scholars Program, visit https://pcaobus.org/About/Pages/Academic_Scholarship.aspx

Media contact: Jeff Joiner | Communications Coordinator | 405.744.2700 | jeff.joiner@okstate.edu