Mumford Receives Prestigious National Scholarship
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) gives 15 U.S. student scholarships and another 15 international student scholarships each year. Sophie Mumford, a Montana State University (MSU) College of Business (CoB) accounting student, who grew up in southern Vermont and is currently majoring in accounting and economics, was chosen to receive one of the $1,000 Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarships for 2010-2011.
Criteria for receiving the ACFE award are rigorous, requiring the student be taking at least 12 semester credit hours, with a declared major in accounting or criminal justice. Recipients are selected on several factors, including overall academic achievement, a short essay explaining why the applicant deserves the scholarship and how the awareness of fraud will affect the student’s career.
Bonita Kramer, CoB professor of accounting, encouraged Mumford to apply for the scholarship after instructing her in ACTG 223 (Principles of Financial Accounting) and ACTG 328 (Intermediate Accounting II). Kramer also wrote one of Mumford’s recommendation letters.
Kramer had this to say about Mumford: “She stops by my office to chat every now and then, and I am so impressed with not only her academic abilities, but also her commitment to serve her community in a variety of volunteer capacities, her personality, her motivation and her vision for her future accounting career. I knew she could compete on a national scale with other scholarship applicants and I am absolutely thrilled the ACFE awarded her this scholarship. She is very deserving and I know she will be an outstanding member of the accounting profession.”
Mumford maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.80, often carrying a heavy credit load of 18 to 24 credits. She says, “I was very excited to be awarded the ACFE scholarship, particularly as my interest in accounting is becoming more focused on auditing.” She says this scholarship will be an important means of funding for her future education.
Besides excelling in academics, Mumford is involved in a wide variety of activities. She serves as a resident hall writing tutor throughout the academic year, volunteered as a BUS 101 (Freshman Seminar) Student Associate during the fall 2009 semester, is active as a math tutor for middle school students through the MSU AmeriCorps program, served as a volleyball coach for 8th grade girls’ for the past three years and has now started working as the accountant for the Sacajawea Middle School Parent Advisory Council (PAC).
Mumford is working as an intern with the MSU Internal Audit Department this summer. She expects to graduate December 2010 and start the Master in Professional Accounting (MPAc) program immediately afterwards.
Four College of Business students have received this scholarship in the past: Jennifer Hill (2002-2003), Erin Mohr (2003-2004) and Joey Ottoy (2008-2009).