Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Iram Khan ’12, MAcc ’13, created a high school recruiting program as part of a scholarship requirement.
by Meaghan Haugh
As part of the community-service component of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) scholarship program, Iram Khan ’12, MAcc ’13, recipient of the AICPA Scholarship for Minority Accounting Students, created a high-school recruiting program for the Accounting department during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Khan was inspired by her Hamilton High School West teacher, Jay Fishman ’91, M.A. ’99, to enroll in ý’s Accounting program.
“I chose ý because of its reputation in business and accounting, but I would have loved to have students from ý come to present about the advantages of attending their university,” she said. “I believe that listening to what someone, not too much older than you, has to say really has an impact on a person’s decision when it comes to college.”
Through the community-service project, Khan wanted to create an awareness of the accounting profession and ý’s curriculum with high school students. She reached out to Fishman, who was receptive to the idea, and referred her to other area high school teachers who would also be interested.
Khan asked Dr. Marge O’Reilly-Allen, chair of the Accounting department, and close friends Timothy McMillan ’12 and Paul Zygmund ’12, to help her present to students at Hamilton High School West, Steinert High School and Nottingham High School, all in Hamilton, N.J. Through the presentations, they talked about career options available to Accounting majors and how ý’s Accounting program prepares students. Khan said McMillan and Zygmund’s different co-op and internship experiences added value to the overall presentations. The feedback from the high-school students was very positive.
“They said that our presentations were very informative, yet engaging as well, and we actually had three students from two schools tell us that they were unsure about what college to choose until they heard our presentation,” Khan said. “After hearing it, they decided to choose ý and paid their deposits!”