Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Ellie Taraska is a fourth year Economics and Statistics major. She is from Boston, Massachusetts but now considers Los Angeles her home. On campus, Ellie currently is a volunteer for UCLA’s Volunteer Income Tax Association and member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Additionally, she works at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Business in the Marketing and Communications department as a marketing intern. Outside of her classes and extracurriculars, Ellie likes exploring Los Angeles, playing soccer, and spending time with her friends.

Future Plans: Ellie will be staying in Los Angeles after graduation and will be starting full time at Intrepid Investment Bankers as an Investment Banking Analyst. She is excited to bring what she has learned from the classroom and her extracurriculars to the team and continue to grow and learn as a UCLA graduate. Additionally, she is considering going back to school after a few years to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration or a Master’s in Data Science.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I truly cannot express how thankful I am to the Wark Family for making this scholarship possible. With all the struggles that have come these past two year during the COVID-19 pandemic, scholarships like the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship have become even more impactful. This scholarship will greatly impact not only my success at UCLA this year but also my success in the future. I am able to focus more on my extracurriculars, community service, and academics because of this scholarship. Being recognized by the Economics department for my academic achievements also means a great deal to me and motivates me to continue to work hard.