The scholars engaged in various sessions and interviews with representatives from Abbott, Baker Tilly LLP, Crowe LLP, Deloitte LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, FORVIS LLP, Grant Thornton LLP, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, KPMG LLP, Northern Trust Corporation, PwC LLP, Sikich LLP, Topel Forman LLC, and Wipfli LLP. Participants also received $500 scholarships to help with their educational expenses. Additionally, through a unique partnership with the University of Illinois, participants had the opportunity to interview for a free tuition and stipend scholarship for the Master of Accounting Science program.

“As we strive to do more to advance diversity in the CPA profession, this class of 37 scholars represents the largest cohort in the program’s 11-year history,” says Kari L. Natale, CAE, senior director of the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. “It was an honor to get to know them and witness them grow and develop the skills needed to succeed in this competitive profession, overcome personal barriers, and gain the courage to be the best versions of themselves.”

The program is funded by donations to the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois’ Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund, which honors her legacy. Mary T. Washington Wylie, a Chicagoan and Northwestern University graduate, began her own accounting practice in her South Side Chicago basement in 1939 and became the first Black female CPA in the United States in 1943. She is widely regarded as a trailblazer who made it her life’s mission to hire and mentor aspiring Black CPAs by fostering their development and supporting their careers.