The Lawrence and Joan E. Anderson Fund Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Phibi Duong is a senior at UCLA studying Business Economics and Accounting. She especially enjoys learning about econometrics and applying the economic principles to real world problems through coding. She also works as a teaching assistant to her former accounting professors at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She finds helping students learn rewarding. Phibi has served as a volunteer with VITA to give tax services to low-income and elderly members in her community. In her free time, she relaxes by playing with her dog, skateboarding, and reading.

Future Plans: After graduating UCLA, Phibi will begin working as a tax accountant with the public accounting firm HCVT. She plans to earn a CPA license, and then pursue a Master’s in Business Taxation degree. She hopes to continue improving her business skills and gaining accounting knowledge to provide the best service to others.

What does the scholarship mean to me? The Lawrence and Joan E. Anderson Fund Scholarship is helping support my academic goals at UCLA. I am given the chance to focus more on my studies. I am honored and grateful to be given this scholarship. With this financial support, I can better devote myself to pursuing my interests in economics and accounting both inside and outside the classroom. I feel lucky and blessed to have this opportunity through the kindness and generosity of the donor.

Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Peonia Chan is a second year undergraduate at UCLA double majoring in Economics and Communications and double minoring in Asian Humanities and Entrepreneurship. Born and raised in Palos Verdes, CA, Peonia had always known she wanted to establish a career in California – leading her to choose an education at UCLA. She currently serves as the Co-Director of Marketing for the Bruin Real Estate Association, the largest commercial real estate organization on campus, and served as the Financial and Administrative Director of the Hong Kong Student Society as well as the Historian for Delta Sigma Pi. In the past, Peonia has held internships at companies such as RE/MAX and Central Escrow Group. In addition, she currently works three internships – UCLA Luskin Conference Center & Hotel, PMI Properties, and Project Destined. During her free time, one can find Peonia playing competitive volleyball, discovering new local eateries, or searching for her next read of the month.

Future Plans: Peonia plans on entering the commercial real estate or private equity industry upon graduation. At Coretrust Capital LLC, she will be interning as an Acquisition and Asset Management Analyst this upcoming summer in their Downtown Los Angeles office as she hopes to gain valuable hands-on experience in the Southern California market from a vertically scaled company. Meanwhile, she is also fortunate enough to have the opportunity of participating in an ongoing Mentorship Program with Jones Lang LaSalle, hoping to expand her experience with their San Francisco and Century City Capital Markets offices in the future, alongside the AZ Summer Educate Program with Ackman Ziff’s office over in New York this upcoming summer. This has inspired her to potentially apply to MBA programs in order to truly hone in on her passion for the real estate industry.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am extremely grateful and honored to be the recipient of the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will assist in easing my financial worries and allow me to dedicate more of my time and energy towards my academics and extracurricular activities – essentially allowing me the opportunity to build the foundation of my professional career. This award has given me another reason to work harder towards my career goals as I wish to properly honor my donor and their recognition of both my educational and professional ambitions. This is such a pivotal moment during my lifetime so I truly hope that when I am an established professional within the industry, I can pay it forward by supporting others in their professional journeys just as these donors have done for me.

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

Biography: Jacquline Ruan is a third-year Business Economics major with a minor in Accounting and a concentration in Value Investing. She is a Peer Learning Facilitator (PLF) for MGMT 1B and was the Director of the Finance Committee in Bruin Women in Business for the 2020-2021 academic year. Jacquline is also in Alpha Phi Omega, UCLA’s co-ed community service fraternity, as well as UCLA UniCamp, the university’s official student charity. During her free time, Jacquline enjoys trying to cook authentic Chinese food in her apartment, watching horror movies (with friends), and playing spike ball with on campus.

Future Plans: Last summer, Jacquline had the opportunity to intern at SBJ, a private equity firm in the Bay Area, through the Small Business Investing Scholars Program. This summer, she will be interning as an Investment Analyst Intern at Angeles Investments in Santa Monica. Jacquline hopes to continue to explore different career paths in the finance industry through various internships in the buy-side before graduating and plans to pursue an MBA after gaining a few years of work experience.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am extremely grateful and honored to have been awarded the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting this academic year. The scholarship provides me the opportunity to focus more of my time on classes as well as on and off campus involvements as this award will alleviate some stress from worrying about finances. I am so thankful to both the donors of the scholarship as well as the department for giving me the support to continue to pursue my academic and career goals.

Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Ziyan Bhamani is a third-year student at UCLA majoring in Business Economics, minoring in Accounting, and a member of the Value Investing Concentration. He was raised in Camarillo, California and has always been a big UCLA sports fan growing up. His involvement on campus consists of being part of the Undergraduate Business Society, Student Accounting Society, Sigma Nu Fraternity, and UCLA Information Technology. Currently, Ziyan is interning at UCLA Investment Company as an Investment Operations Intern. Outside of academics, Ziyan enjoys playing intramural basketball, trying new foods, and camping with friends.

Future Plans: Ziyan will be staying in Los Angeles this summer to intern at KPMG in their Deal Advisory and Strategy practice. He looks forward to learning new skills and expanding his knowledge in the finance industry. He hopes to someday pursue an MBA to build upon his undergraduate education.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am incredibly grateful to have received the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. I would like to thank the Shapiro family for their immense generosity and contribution towards my education. This scholarship will positively impact my success this year as I will be able to put more focus toward extracurriculars, community service, and coursework. I am extremely appreciative to be recognized for my past achievements and I believe receiving this scholarship has only encouraged me to work harder going forward.

Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship For The Study Of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Kristy Guan is a sophomore majoring in business economics and minoring in accounting at UCLA. She has always been interested in business and finance and interned at different places. From different internships and deals she’s been working with, she learned that accounting is an integral part of any business. She also found herself enjoying looking at financial statements of different public and private companies. She is honored to be selected for this scholarship and will be using this scholarship granted by Professor Harry Simons subjects related to accounting and business in the coming quarters.

Future Plans: In the short term, she will continue to explore more about business and accounting in the coming summer in 2022 and 2023. This coming summer, she will be attending trainings in Florida with KPMG. Spending a week with the KPMG professionals to learn more about accounting. She also received an EY internship offer for tax practice in 2023, preparing to establish a strong background in tax regulations in help with future needs. In the long term, she plans to use her accounting foundation to establish her own business and help with clients in private equity. She will also use the skills and knowledge she learns to give back to the society and help with anyone in needs.

What does this scholarship mean to me? This scholarship will help me tremendously in achieving my career and educational goals. I would like to thank my benefactor from the bottom of my heart and I will always be grateful for it. I have been working hard to get here as a first-generation college student, so I will use this scholarship wisely to better equipped myself with a variety of knowledge. I have strong drive and vision for my future and hope to learn more with this scholarship and make an impact to the world. This scholarship genuinely means everything to me and I am beyond honored to be receiving it. Thank you.