Outstanding Student Awards

AWARDS

OUTSTANDING STUDENTS

Every year the UACPA awards an outstanding student from each university. Meet the 2021 winners of the Outstanding Student Award.

DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY

Ryan Miggin

Ryan is a tremendous accounting student! He has an overall GPA of a 3.99 and an accounting GPA of 4.0! Ryan is also the president of our Accounting Club, where he has coordinated several events and activities. In addition to his stellar academic performance and service to the community, Ryan is genuinely a nice and good person. — Derrick Esplin

UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY

Sharem Young

Sharem grew up farming and knows how to work. He values helping other people, as demonstrated through involvement as a tutor, graduate assistant, and in youth groups. He is a straightforward communicator. At school, he works well in teams, contributes to class discussions, and achieves good grades. We anticipate that he will be a strong contributor to his community. — Josh Cieslewicz

WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

Matthew Hansen

Matthew is one of those rare students who found his niche after completing a significant portion of his degree. Matthew transferred to Weber State and became an accounting major. During his tenure at WSU, Matthew has completed his BS while maintaining a 4.0 in all of his Weber coursework. After graduating with his BS, he continued on with his MAcc and has maintained a 4.0 there as well, graduating this coming spring. — Jeff Glover

WESTMINSTER COLLEGE

Faye Gulini

After volunteering both as an undergraduate student and a graduate student for the Westminster Tax Clinic (VITA), Faye now works as the clinic’s administrator. She is driven and hard-working. Faye is a professional snowboarder and three-time Olympian. She has been snowboarding for almost two decades. She also volunteers for the USSSA Olympic CommitteeFinance and Investment Section as well as Kids Play International and Wasatch Adaptive Sports Organization. When Faye is not excelling on the slopes, she is excelling in the classroom and is a stellar student. — Chelsea Dye

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

Alyssa Smith

Alyssa’s professors have described her as a leader among her peers. She has a major GPA of 3.94 and an overall BYU GPA of 3.91. She volunteers in BYU’s VITA program, the Women in Business club in the Marriott School of Business and as a mentor for pre-accounting students. Some faculty members commented: “Alyssa was a top performer in my classes. I could always count on Alyssa to come to class prepared, ask great questions, help her fellow students in group work, and to follow-up with me after class anytime she needed help with the class material. She is very bright and very focused. It was a privilege to have her in my classes.” Alyssa has accepted a fulltime offer from Tanner LLC. — Scott Hobson

SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY

Jesse Jones

Jesse has been engaged with the university, serving as an intern to the university president and as the accounting representative for the Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business. He is a member of the Professional Accounting Club and has served as its treasurer. He maintains a 4.0 GPA, is always on the dean’s list, and has been inducted as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. He has been engaged in a professional capacity: He participated in a Deloitte externship in Westlake, Texas, worked as a tax intern in the Las Vegas office of Deloitte, and has accepted a permanent position there. Lastly, he has has already passed the audit section of the CPA Exam. — Robin Boneck

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

Joseph Park

Joseph joined our PreMAcc Summer Intensive program last summer and is graduating with his MAcc this spring. In his relatively short time in our program, Joseph has taken every opportunity to step up to help the School of Accounting and to gain professional experience for himself. In addition to being a UACPA Ambassador, Joseph has served as a tutor for other students, evaluated faculty as part of the retention, promotion, and tenure process, and has also successfully secured a job in the field of accounting. His tenacity for success is to be admired just as much as his desire to serve. We are happy to have Joseph as a student and wish him the very best in his future career as a fantastic CPA! — Nate Zwart

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

Joshua Banks

Joshua has taken every opportunity to engage in the School of Accountancy and has learned and contributed in every area. He has participated as an officer in both Beta Alpha Psi and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) clubs. He served as a campus ambassador for both Becker CPA Prep and the UACPA. Not only is Josh among the top of his class, he is also friendly, outgoing and highly respected by his peers. In addition to being a great leader, Josh cares about the success of his fellow classmates. As an example, Josh asked if he could give his scholarship to a student in need. He consistently looks for opportunities to help those around him. He also mentors younger students in the accounting program. — Teri Rasmussen