WMU student receives competitive $10,000 accountancy scholarship

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Maddie Cordell, a student at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business, recently received a competitive $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for the 2020-21 academic year. The merit-based scholarship is intended to encourage accounting students to pursue careers in audit.

Cordell graduated with honors in April 2020 and plans to graduate with her Master of Science in Accountancy degree next year. After completing her master’s, Cordell will join Ernst & Young as an assurance staff member at their Chicago office.

In addition to her academic success, Cordell stays involved in both Western’s campus and the Kalamazoo community. She volunteers with Communities in Schools, Habitat for Humanity and FOCUS Kalamazoo and is a member of multiple student organizations, including Accounting Club, Beta Alpha Psi, Best Buddies and Alpha Lambda Delta.

“The Haworth College of Business pushes students to explore different experiences and I think that has been a driving force behind my success,” Cordell says. “Participating in the Student Professional Readiness Series, externships, an internship, student organizations, volunteering and study abroad experiences has helped me figure out who I am as a person, a student and who I want to be as a professional. I am a different person than I was when I first stepped on campus and I credit that to the diverse experiences I have participated in.”

About the award