Newport College Student Wins Accounting Award

A Newport Beach college student has been selected to receive the Outstanding Future CPA Award, officials announced Wednesday.

Leonora Williams, a Coastline Community College student and Newport Beach resident, was chosed for the $1,500 award from the Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

“Those of us on the CalCPA scholarship committee believe that Leonora will be successful in reaching her CPA goals because she has exhibited the drive and determination to make her dreams come true while also helping others find their way to a better life,” Cheryl Collins, a CalCPA representative, said in a released statement.

Officials said the award is given every year to a community college accounting student who plans to transfer to a four-year university, has excellent communication skills and leadership abilities, possesses a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and is interested in pursuing a career in accounting in the local region.

Williams, who is originally from Santiago, Chile, served in the California National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. When she returned home, she decided to pursue her education in Business Administration and enrolled at Coastline in spring 2012.

She is  Coastline’s first Accounting-subject tutor and recently served the college and community as the assistant site coordinator for the IRS VITA program held at Coastline during the tax season. 

Williams will receive her award at the CalCPA Scholarship Ceremony on July 23 in Costa Mesa.