2008 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Avani Oswal is a fourth-year Business Economics major and Accounting minor student. She has been fortunate to work as a Research Assistant for the past three years under a distinguished faculty at the Anderson Graduate School of Management. Avani has been working at the UCLA Office of Residential for the past two years. She was a Student Leader in Hedrick her sophomore year. She then worked as a Resident Assistant at Hedrick Hall last year and will do so at Rieber Terrace this year. This experience has helped her gain counseling and leadership skills that will help her throughout her career. She is also an officer of the Student Accounting Society. This year she did a summer internship with a public accounting firm and gained valuable experience. Her hobbies include dancing, traveling, running, and playing tennis.

Future Plans: After graduation, Avani plans to start working full-time with a public accounting firm and earn her CPA license. She then wants to pursue a Masters of Business Administration. She also hopes to spend time traveling to broaden her cultural horizons and to develop a worldwide perspective that can be applied to the workplace as well as to her personal life.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to have received Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year. I will be using it to help cover educational expenses for this coming year. This scholarship will enable me to focus on my studies and provide cash flow support to ease my financial burdens. This scholarship has renewed my belief that hard work pays off and others appreciate integrity, determination, and an overall passion for improvement as a student and as a person. By receiving this scholarship I hope to continue expanding my horizons through education as well as gaining experience in the business world. I am both fortunate and proud at having been recognized by Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship as being a worthy recipient. I would also like to thank the UCLA Department of Economics for making such opportunities available.