Alumni Newsletter Fall 2019

Carissa Malone has been awarded a Doctoral Fellowship by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “The AICPAMinority Doctoral Student fellowship has been extremely valuable to me, by helping to reduce the financial burdens of pursuing a Ph.D. in accounting and information systems. Additionally, the fellowship provides me with the opportunity to meet other students and faculty who have similar backgrounds and career aspirations as I do.” Carissa Malone is a third-year Ph.D. student in accounting and information systems at Virginia Tech. Her primary research interest is in experimental research with a focus on the judgment and decision making of auditing professionals. Prior to enrolling in the Ph.D. program at Virginia Tech, Carissa earned an MBA in accounting from the University of St. Thomas – Houston and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin. She has accounting work experience across various industries including auditing, non-profit, oil and gas, consulting, and retail. Most recently, she worked in accounting and grants management at Arnold Ventures (formerly, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation). Carissa is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and The PhD Project. Carissa Malone Awarded AICPA Doctoral Fellowship

Carissa Malone

PCAOB Scholarship Recipient Charles “Grant” Watson III received a $10,000 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) scholarship. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 provides that funds generated from the collection of monetary penalties imposed by the PCAOB must be used to fund a merit scholarship program for students in accredited accounting degree programs. The PCAOB Scholarship Program therefore has been created to identify eligible students for the scholarship program and award funds through the students’ educational institutions. The Board established the PCAOB scholarship program to provide a source of funding to encourage outstanding undergraduate and graduate students to pursue a career in auditing. Charles “Grant” Watson III is a junior double majoring in ACIS & Finance from Roanoke, VA. After his junior year, he will be interning at Dixon Hughes Goodman on the tax team in Richmond, VA. At Virginia Tech, he is involved with the Pamplin Leadership Development Team, the Student Hokie Club Leadership Council, and works for recreational sports as an intramural official. Last summer, Grant had the opportunity to intern at CBIZ which is a regional firm in his hometown in the Human Capital Management department. For fun, Grant loves to attend Virginia Tech football and basketball games as he has been a diehard Hokie fanatic since he was a little kid. Also, he enjoys playing intramural sports and pick-up basketball with his friends.

Grant Watson

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