The annual Education Night Dinner of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), Buffalo Chapter, took place Tuesday, April 23, 2013, at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. The purpose of the event was to honor the outstanding junior, senior and graduate accounting students from the area’s colleges and universities, and also to provide a setting where professionals and students can meet to network. The speaker for the event was Clifford G. Benson, the chief development officer and alternate governor for the Buffalo Sabres.
Kelli Fountain, Ellen Senf and Ben Dinehart were this year’s recipients from Niagara University. Fountain received the NYSSCPA Award of Honor, which is given to a graduating senior and graduate student in recognition of outstanding achievements in accounting studies. The Sanborn, N.Y., native received her B.B.A. in accounting in May 2012, and will receive her MBA in accounting this May. She has also volunteered the past three years for the VITA program through Niagara University.
Ellen Senf, a native of St. Paul, Minn., also received the NYSSCPA Award of Honor. She will graduate with a B.B.A. in accounting this May and plans to pursue a master of accountancy from Wright State University. Besides playing on Niagara’s volleyball team, she also found time to assist with the VITA program the last two years in addition to being a Special Olympics coordinator and coach.
The John T. Memorial Award went to Ben Dinehart. This award is given to the junior at a college or university majoring in accounting and who has the highest overall scholastic average. Dinehart is from Penn Yan, N.Y. and expects to graduate in May 2014 with a B.B.A. in accounting. He is active with the Business Organizational and Leadership Development (BOLD) activities at Niagara.
NYSSCPA also provided the opportunity for junior accounting students to attend the event. The Niagara students selected to attend this year’s event were Jason Cutler, Sarah Doucette, Michael Federspiel and Emily Read. Asstistant professors of accounting Steven Gattuso and Dr. Lei Han were in attendance to recognize the excellent academic achievement of Niagara’s students.
According to Dr. Han, “The NYSSCPA Educator Dinner was a successful event. People from all aspects of accounting were gathering together to celebrate the academic achievements of accounting students in this region. The guest speaker, Clifford Benson from the Buffalo Sabres, shared his life wisdom and career advice with the audience. I was very happy to see NU students get recognized and wish them success in their career pursuits.”
