Scholarship Day showcases students' knowledge of accounting issues.

• Position: Involvement

Several of Ohio's top college accounting majors spent a day interviewing with OSCPA judges during The Ohio CPA Foundation's 2009 Scholarship Day, which awards a scholarship to an accounting student who demonstrates exceptional knowledge of issues facing the profession.

Lauren Huml of University of Dayton received first-place honors with an award of $3,000.

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"It's exciting and extremely satisfying to see all my efforts realized in the form of the scholarship," Huml said.

"Overall, the day was a great experience," she added. "The judges, Ohio Society staff and the other candidates were all extremely welcoming and friendly. While the questions asked were challenging, the environment was very relaxed, making the day less stressful."

Each Scholarship Day participant had previously won a Foundation regional scholarship and was chosen as the top scholarship recipient in their region, which made them eligible to compete for the additional statewide award.

During the event, candidates attended a series of one-on-one interviews with OSCPA member judges. They answered one final interview question before a panel comprised of all the judges. Their answers to the questions allowed judges to evaluate students on their grasp of the issues facing the CPA profession and their ability" to discuss them at length.

Volunteer judge Jerry Esselstein, CPA said students exercise more than their analytical accounting skills during Scholarship Day. Candidates must also demonstrate excellent interpersonal communications and sales skills.

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"This is a chance to find out if the students can think on their feet without having access to FASB rules or a spreadsheet," Esselstein said. "The winner was the one who best articulated her understanding of the issues."

THE OHIO SOCIETY THANKS THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS FOR VOLUNTEERING AS JUDGES:

* Brent Ardit, CPA, Rea & Associates, Inc.

* Jim Bronder, CPA, The University of Northwestern Ohio

* Chris Dean, CPA, GBQ Partners LLC

* Jerry Esselstein, CPA, Jerry L. Esselstein Company, LLC

* Michele Hoover, CPA, Walthall, Drake & Wallace LLP

* Maggie Houston, CPA, Wright State University

* Sharon Reisman, CPA, Clark Schaefer Hackett & Co.

STUDENT PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED:

* Logan Kreais, The University of Findlay

* Denise Morrison, The Ohio State University

* Tracy Chamberlain, University of Toledo

* Joseph Campbell, Kent State University

* Ashley Tonkovich, Youngstown State University

* Lauren Huml...