Biography: Vivian Fan is a junior from Shanghai, China. She is currently pursuing a double major in business economics and political science with a concentration in international relations at UCLA. With a strong passion in the intersection between finance and the legal field, she has taken a wide array of courses during her three years of education at UCLA and excelled in skills such as legal research and financial analysis. On campus, she has been a member of the Debate Union, research assistant for the Department of Economics, and is currently working on writing for the BLIS law review. Last summer, she interned as a legal writer serving the legal needs for the LGBTQ+ community in California. In her free time, one can find her playing the guitar, reading detective fictions, thrifting, and crocheting.

Future plans: This summer, Vivian will be joining Houlihan Lokey’s LA office as a financial analyst intern, focusing on dispute resolution consulting. From the internship experience, she wishes gain a deeper understanding of finance in the legal realm. As for now, she is also preparing for the law school admission test and hopes to pursue a Juris Doctor degree upon graduation from UCLA.

What this scholarship means to me? I am incredibly grateful and humbled for being chosen as the recipient for the scholarship. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my gratitude for Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju’s benevolence. Junior year has been particularly challenging for me, but this scholarship will always remind me of how far I have come. It will motivate me to stay curious, resilient, and most importantly, be confident in myself. I sincerely hope one day I can give back to the community that nurtures my education today.

Biography: Ernesto Favela Corral is a third-year undergraduate at UCLA Majoring in Economics. Born and raised in Victorville California, Ernesto knew about the opportunities that come with living in California. Being a first-generation college student has fueled Ernesto to discover the potential of such a school as UCLA. While maintaining an active schedule, Ernesto’s passion for Baseball has been able to flourish. He currently plays baseball for the UCLA Club Baseball team and interns as a baseball operations manager for UCLA’s official baseball team. While maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset, Ernesto has been able to develop and run his very own ecommerce store where he is able to connect classroom taught principles into his store. In the past Ernesto interned at Armanino LLP where he was able to explore the accounting industry. During his free time, one can find Ernesto following various sports, pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and learning as much as possible.

Future Plans: Upon graduation, Ernesto plans to potentially pursue a career in accounting with a focus in business management. Ernesto will work for Armanino in the West Los Angeles office, where he can best be exposed to clients and be able to support their needs for business management. Ernesto hopes to learn from professionals and build a strong foundation in hopes of clearly establishing a successful career. Due to Ernesto’s strong passion towards baseball and sports, he hopes to one day stem into a position where he can work in sports or help manage wealth of athletes. Ultimately however, Ernesto plans to maintain his entrepreneurial work ethic and work on building his own company. This scholarship has enabled Ernesto to pursue his dreams and goals.

What this scholarship means to me? I am extremely grateful and honored to be the recipient of the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will relieve me of financial stress and allow me to give my complete attention to my academics and build a strong foundation. I also plan to establish more connections and pursue more extracurriculars that will mold me into a professional. This scholarship has given me the opportunity to strive and keep pursuing my dreams. This is such a pivotal time in my lifetime, and I hope to properly honor my donors as they have recognized my ambition in the classroom and my professional goals.  I cannot wait to pay this forward to young individuals in the future with goals of pursuing a professional career just like me.

Biography: Adam Chan is a third-year Business Economics major with a minor in Accounting. He has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Boy Scouts, culminating in a community service project that saw the donation of a vegetable garden and greenhouse to his local women’s shelter. He has been a member of UCLA Club Swimming for his entire time at UCLA. When not studying for classes or working, Adam enjoys reading books that his friends recommend, going to the gym, baking, and hanging out with his friends.

Future Plans: This year, Adam currently has internships at multiple public accounting firms in the spring and summer in Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. Next year, he hopes to be accepted to law school in order to pursue a career in corporate law, aided by his background in accounting. Eventually, he hopes to also pursue an MBA during his law career.

What this scholarship means to me? I am thankful and honored to have been chosen for the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting this academic year. With this scholarship, I hope to be able to concentrate more on my academic success without having to worry about my financial situation. I am extremely grateful for the department and the donors to have considered me for the award and for their continued support in my academic and professional career.