Stephanie Dong

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2017 John. J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Stephanie Dong is a junior pursuing a major in business economics and minors in accounting and statistics. She is also an Achievement Scholar and college honors student. She is currently involved in undergraduate research under Professor Mark Grinblatt (UCLA Anderson School of Management), investigating factors that affect stock market cycles. As her diverse interests range from psychology, to computer science, to finance, she enjoys interdisciplinary research and is especially interested in the fields of behavioral economics/finance. Outside her academics, she is Managing Editor of Aleph Undergraduate Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences, a member of various undergraduate business clubs, and an avid table tennis player.

Future plans: While at UCLA, Stephanie hopes to continue partaking in quantitative research projects that combine her diverse interests, as well as further develop her own start-up projects. She also aims to apply her business/economics knowledge and data analysis skills in her upcoming summer internship. In the long run, she aspires to pursue a career that will allow her to integrate knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to solve crucial problems in business/economics.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am incredibly honored and delighted to be a recipient of this award. This scholarship is an enormous encouragement and confirmation of my efforts to continuously work toward my goals. I am grateful for the abundant resources UCLA has provided me to make the most of my college education and experience. I look forward to truly applying my knowledge and skills to the real world in the coming years, and hope that one day I can give back to the school I esteem.

Haoran Zhang

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2017 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Haoran Zhang is a senior student at UCLA with a major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. As a transfer student from Santa Monica College, she believes that university education further enhances her capability and lead she toward the right direction in the field of business and economics. She takes active part in volunteer work in organizations such as the Alpha Gamma Sigma and Phi Theta Kappa during the weekends. In Haoran’s spare time, she enjoys reading, biking and traveling. She also has a strong passion to translate beautiful English articles and poems into Chinese.

Future Plans: After graduation, Haoran intends to pursue a career in an accounting firm and takes the CPA exam. In the next few year, she hopes to seek a position for account manager. And if needed, she will apply to graduate school to improve her professional skills and pursue her interests in more depth.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to be one of the recipients of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship. Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me and my family who have supported me from the beginning. This award also relieves my financial stress. As proof of my efforts, this scholarship empowers me to approach my education with more confidence. Thanks again and I promise to do my best to make my educational dream come true.

Zoe

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2017 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Zoe is a sophomore pursuing her major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. Born in China and immigrated to Canada, she found her transition to new environments not only helped her gain new perspectives of the world around her, but also challenged her in a multitude of dimensions. Due to this, her decision to continue higher education at UCLA follows her goal to constantly challenge and better herself. As someone with no prior exposure to economics or accounting, she started from scratch and very much enjoyed the learning process. Zoe has also been a competitive karate athlete, an art student, and the Culture and Education Representative for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Future Plans: Zoe aims to finish her undergraduate degree prior to June 2020. She will be interning at Solganick & Co. this spring to explore her fit in investment banking and will also be looking for opportunities within the accounting industry. It is her goal to incorporate her passion for fashion design or gourmet with entrepreneurship sometime in the future to establish her own line of clothing or dessert shop.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I cannot express enough of my gratitude to the Bragg family for their kindness and generosity that both encourage and support me towards pursuing a career in business. It is a great honor to be a recipient of this award and I will definitely work even harder to prove myself worthy of this recognition.  This award showed me the importance of giving and inspires me to give back to the community as much as possible in future.

Johnny (Zhiyu) Yan

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2017 Gumbiner Savett Inc. Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Johnny Yan is a third year student majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Mathematics. He grew up in Singapore and served two years in the Singapore military before coming to UCLA. While attending UCLA, Johnny has held leadership roles in Bruin Value Investing, Bruin Consulting and UCLA’s Singaporean Student Association. In addition, he has also completed several internships across investment banking, financial planning and business operations. In his free time, Johnny enjoys snowboarding, Game of Thrones, reading and investing.

Future Plans: Having a strong interest in finance, Johnny intends to pursue a career in investment banking upon graduation. This summer he will be interning at Goldman Sachs in their San Francisco office. In the long term, he hopes to return to Asia to be closer to his family who are in Singapore.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am truly grateful and honored to receive the Gumbiner, Savett Scholarship, both as means to pay for my educational and living expenses and as recognition of my collegiate achievements. I am humbled by the award and encouraged to rightfully represent this university, this scholarship, and myself in the years to come.

Linda Su

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2017 Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Linda Su is a third-year Business Economics major and Accounting Minor. She teaches high school students financial literacy, plays club tennis, co-leads a mentorship team in Beta Alpha Psi, and supervises all marketing and promotion for UCLA Studio 22, a multimedia studio at UCLA. During her free time, Linda enjoys hiking, baking, and exploring LA with her friends.

Future Plans: Linda participated in various public accounting leadership programs the summer of her sophomore year. She accepted an internship in core assurance with PriceWaterhouseCoopers this summer in the Los Angeles office. She plans to pursue a career in public accounting after graduation, and she may pursue an MBA in the future after gaining work experience.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am very honored to have been selected for the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. This scholarship will support my academic work in economics and accounting. I am also grateful that I will be able to focus on my studies and future career with less of a financial burden. I am thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro’s support and hope to pay it forward one day as well.

James Setiadi

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2017 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: James Setiadi is a sophomore with a major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and raised in Northridge, California. He developed a strong interest in business after taking accounting classes in high school. At UCLA, he deepened his accounting knowledge and joined the Student Accounting Society. During summers, he worked as an intern for the Kellogg and Andelson Accountancy Corporation and for a local, small business. Alongside accounting, James has an interest in community service and marine biology. He is a member of the volunteer organization Circle K and its fundraising committee. He also volunteers at the Aquarium of the Pacific where he has logged 410 service hours over the past 5 years.

Future Plans: After graduating, James plans on becoming a Certified Public Accountant. To gain some CPA experience, he hopes to attend summer leadership programs at Big 4 and mid-tier accounting firms. Later, he plans on interning at an accounting firm in his junior year and accepting a full time offer by his senior year. Currently, he is most interested in working in the field of auditing.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: As I have learned in my business classes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Covering my educational expenses will be a challenge that conflicts with my accounting studies over the coming years. I will have to face this challenge on my own since I am the first person in my family to attend a university in the United States. Therefore, I feel extremely grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship. The Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship will help me tremendously by being one of my support systems at UCLA. This scholarship will help me achieve my career goals by allowing me to focus on my accounting studies and less on my financial burden. Thank you to Mr. Mortenson and his family for supporting my education. I will not take this award for granted and work hard so that I can give back to my community.

Pooja Saran

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2017 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Pooja Saran is a second-year Alumni Scholar studying Business Economics at UCLA. She has a passion for learning and problem-solving – thriving in environments where she can continually challenge herself. Pooja’s quantitative background in finance, accounting, and economics has provided her with a strong aptitude for logical and critical thinking. On campus she is part of Bruin Investment & Trading Group, where she thinks critically to analyze the effects of current market conditions on companies’ financial health. Pooja is also a Presidential Associate of the Alumni Scholars Club and an Event Manager at the Anderson School of Management, where she uses her exemplary leadership skills to execute large-scale events and build meaningful connections. In her spare time, Pooja enjoys hiking, DIY crafting, and spending time with her family and friends.

Future Plans: Pooja is pursuing a career in finance, where she can use her analytical mindset to solve challenging problems. After graduating with her undergraduate degree and gaining more industry experience, she plans to continue in higher education by pursuing a MBA. Pooja looks forward to using her technical knowledge for positive change.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I would like to thank Mr. Mortenson and the Department for supporting my academic endeavors and believing in my successes. This generosity strengthens my belief and commitment to feed-forward. Knowing others are confident in me and invested in my education further motivates me to continue holding myself to exceptional standards – always challenging myself to do more. This scholarship will help me achieve my goals by letting me focus on my studies, rather than financial stresses. I am grateful for the generous support of Mr. Mortenson and the Economics Department. Thank you for this honor!

Aileen Sanchez

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2017 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Aileen is a third-year Economics major with an emphasis in Accounting. She is currently working two jobs as an office assistant at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and as a sales assistant at ASUCLA Catering. Aileen has interned as a Launch intern at Ernst & Young and will be an incoming tax intern at the firm this summer. When she’s not busy with school or work, she enjoys visiting new restaurants and trying different foods.

Future Plans: Aileen plans to become a tax accountant at a big four accounting firm and hopes to also pursue a law degree. She has always had an interest in law and believes that this would be a great way to work in two fields that she is passionate about. It was during her most recent internship that she learned how law and tax work together. She became even more motivated and inspired to pursue a law degree in order to expand her skills. Aileen hopes that after a few years of work experience at an accounting firm, that she can then go back to school and bring the two together.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to have been chosen as a recipient of the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. I have worked two jobs throughout my college career in order to relieve the financial burden on my family. This scholarship is going to allow me to focus on achieving my academic and career goals. The award has also provided me the reinforcement needed to work even harder towards my goals. I am thankful for the Wark Family’s generosity and hope that one day I can pay it forward.

Michelle Thaovy Phan

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2017 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Michelle Phan is a third-year Business Economics major and Accounting minor. Born in Vietnam, she moved to the U.S. at a young age and grew up in Orange County. Michelle graduated from Bolsa Grande High School in 2015. Throughout her academic career, she has put every effort into maintaining the highest level of academic achievement possible. Experiencing the disadvantages that financial challenges bring about as she was growing up, she has learned the value of financial independence and realized the value of a college education. Michelle is a first-generation college student in her family. She endeavors to pursue her career success, become a role model for her sister, and repay her parents for their sacrifices. This past summer, she attended the Big Four’s Summer Leadership Programs and received early internship offers, of which she picked Deloitte.

Future Plans: Michelle will be interning at Deloitte this summer. She will be joining the Orange County Audit Team to gain exposure to the corporate world and receive hands-on training within the professional service. After graduation, Michelle plans to become a Certified Public Accountant. She is also considering becoming a Certified Financial Planner. After a few years, she would like to pursue an MBA. In the long run, she wants to start her own business. She hopes that her knowledge in business, economics, public accounting, and finance will substantially benefit her in pursuing her long-term career goals.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. I feel extremely grateful for the Wark Family’s generous financial support and investment in my education. I am humbled by their recognition of my past achievement and confidence in my potential for future successes. I now feel even more driven than ever to continue working hard and strive to honor this recognition. This scholarship will help reduce my financial burden and allow me to focus on pursuing my educational dreams. One day, I hope to be able to pay it forward to the community.

Julia Miller

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2017 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Julia is a 4th year Economics major and Accounting minor. Her past experience includes interning for KPMG’s Economic and Valuation Services department, as well as Paramount Pictures’ Compliance department. She has competed in various case competitions during her time at UCLA, including being part of the winning team in the campus rounds of KPMG’s International Case Competition and a semifinalist in PwC’s Challenge Case Competition. In addition, Julia co-founded and served as the CEO of Bruin Investment Banking, and she also volunteers with UCLA’s Colleges Against Cancer. She plans on graduating in June 2018 as part of UCLA’s College Honors program.

Future Plans: After graduating, Julia will work as an Economic and Valuation Services Associate for KPMG the Los Angeles office. She hopes to gain valuable experience in the field of public accounting before pursuing an MBA.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting—the scholarship provides me with immense help in continuing to pursue my Bachelor’s degree. My family and I are extraordinarily grateful for the scholarship, as it will help reduce the financial burden of tuition, and it will allow me to reduce the number of hours that I need to work during the academic year so that I can put an even greater focus on my coursework. I am so thankful for the generous contribution that makes this scholarship possible.