2008 John J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient Biography: Raj Dalal is a third year Business Economics major and Accounting minor student pursuing College Honors. He was born in Southern California and graduated from El Toro High School. In high school, he was very active in track and field and Associated Student Body. At UCLA, he works as a personal tutor for 4 high school students and is a member of the Undergraduate Business Society. He just completed a summer internship at Alacer Corp., which gave him valuable experience in managerial and operational accounting. In his spare time, he enjoys surfing, snorkeling and hiking.

Future Plans: In the next two years, Raj plans to complete his B.A. and finish his College Honors program as well as complete a senior thesis for the Economics Department Honors program. He plans to intern for an investment banking firm in this upcoming year or over summer. After graduation, he plans to gain additional work experience in finance or accounting before returning to graduate school to pursue his MBA. He also plans to attain his real estate license so he can buy and sell houses as investments.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: It is a great honor to be the recipient of the John J. Peterson Scholarship. I greatly appreciate the financial assistance and moral support Mr. Peterson has provided me. I will be using this scholarship to cover my educational expenses for this upcoming year. This will greatly ease my financial burdens considering that I must work to pay for tuition and books. Now I will be able to greatly help my parents out by covering most of my living expenses. This scholarship will help put me on the path to financial independence but also provides me with renewed determination to further expand my academic endeavors.