2012 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Dennis Drent Jr. is a fourth-year student pursuing a Business Economics major with minors in Accounting and Mathematics. He serves as one of two Directors of Training for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where he greatly enjoys teaching new volunteers how to file individual income taxes. Dennis also loves working on campus part time for the UCLA Anderson School’s Executive MBA Program. When he can, Dennis relaxes by going on runs, spending time with family and friends, and watching SportsCenter.

Future Plans: Dennis is very excited to use the accounting skills he learned at UCLA to work full time as an investment analyst for a capital group shortly after graduating. After the company’s analyst program, he plans to enroll in a top MBA program and focus on entrepreneurial studies. Dennis’ ultimate career goal is to find his niche in the global business world and start a successful company as founder and CEO.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I receive the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting award with extreme gratitude and appreciation. I feel very fortunate to be recognized for my hard work. This award greatly alleviates the financial burden of getting an education at such a renowned university. I hope to one day be able to affect the lives of future economics students by contributing a similar gift to UCLA’s Economics Department. Once again, I thank the donors of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting for their generosity.