2017 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: James Setiadi is a sophomore with a major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and raised in Northridge, California. He developed a strong interest in business after taking accounting classes in high school. At UCLA, he deepened his accounting knowledge and joined the Student Accounting Society. During summers, he worked as an intern for the Kellogg and Andelson Accountancy Corporation and for a local, small business. Alongside accounting, James has an interest in community service and marine biology. He is a member of the volunteer organization Circle K and its fundraising committee. He also volunteers at the Aquarium of the Pacific where he has logged 410 service hours over the past 5 years.

Future Plans: After graduating, James plans on becoming a Certified Public Accountant. To gain some CPA experience, he hopes to attend summer leadership programs at Big 4 and mid-tier accounting firms. Later, he plans on interning at an accounting firm in his junior year and accepting a full time offer by his senior year. Currently, he is most interested in working in the field of auditing.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: As I have learned in my business classes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Covering my educational expenses will be a challenge that conflicts with my accounting studies over the coming years. I will have to face this challenge on my own since I am the first person in my family to attend a university in the United States. Therefore, I feel extremely grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship. The Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship will help me tremendously by being one of my support systems at UCLA. This scholarship will help me achieve my career goals by allowing me to focus on my accounting studies and less on my financial burden. Thank you to Mr. Mortenson and his family for supporting my education. I will not take this award for granted and work hard so that I can give back to my community.