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Paul S. Mills Scholarships
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2022 Paul S. Mills Scholarship Winners
Sandra Abundio
Sandra served as an accounting tutor for 50 students and student body president during her just competed time at Cerritos College. Next up is her junior year at Claremont McKenna College following a summer internship with Deloitte. Watching her parents struggle financially led to her decision to major in accounting and she sees an accounting degree as providing many valuable transferable skills. Following graduation, Sandra hopes to earn her CPA and work with a Big 4 accounting firm.
Susan Dreiling
Susan is the busy mother of two boys who works year-round at H&R Block while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Phoenix. She previously earned a BS in business administration. Susan has a passion to help people plan better so that they don’t have to struggle financially. She hopes to earn a CPA and continue working in the tax field.
Scott Ferris
Scott, a senior at Virginia Tech, is working on a BS in finance with a concentration in financial planning. When he finishes school, he would like to earn his CFP credential and work with an independent RIA firm. He reports that after losing his father to COVID last Thanksgiving, his family relied heavily on their planner, Pete, who advised them on the estate, Scott’s schooling, and also played a crucial role in the healing process. Scott previously interned with Northwestern Mutual, and has one coming up with JP Morgan.
Matt Gatherum
Matthew is a junior majoring in personal financial planning at Utah Valley University. He maintains a 3.9 GPA while working part-time for a financial advisory firm. He also volunteers as financial coach for his fellow students and is president of Utah Valley’s Personal Financial Planning Student Association. Upon graduation, Matthew will focus his financial advisory skills on providing “preventive care” to students, newlyweds, and young families to create financial security early on.
Yasmine Guzman
A junior at the University of Oregon, Yasmine is majoring in accounting with a 3.8 GPA and plans to sit for the CPA exam upon graduation. Her passion for accounting came from her mom, a tax consultant who, as an immigrant learning English as a second language, had to work extra hard to achieve her goals. Yasmine is a national qualifier for Future Business Leaders of America and a member of Beta Alpha Psi, an honor organization for financial information students.
Magi Jacques
Magi is a sophomore studying personal financial planning at Kansas State University. Her interest in financial planning came from growing up in a small town of 700 and watching her family struggle to maintain financial security. Upon graduation, she would like to use her education to help families in her rural community achieve their financial goals. Magi, a first-generation college student, maintains a 4.0 GPA while working to pay tuition.
Angelina Layfield
Angelina, a personal financial planning student at Kansas State, carries 21 credits while working full-time at a local bank. She has a passion for education and financial literacy stemming from her experience growing up in the foster care system. This passion drives her career goal of being a financial advisor to young soldiers and newlyweds in the armed services. As a military spouse herself whose husband has been deployed for the past 18 months, Angelina sees first-hand the need for financial knowledge in military families. She believes helping these families is a way to give back to “those individuals who work so hard to serve us and our country.”
Daniel Martinez
Daniel is a senior at Texas Tech majoring in personal financial planning. He has set his sights on being a fee-only financial advisor and earning both the CFP and AFC credentials. While attending classes and working two jobs, Daniel also dedicates time to KEY Outreach, an organization that serves low-income families in Lubbock with food, shelter, and pro bono financial counseling. He says making a difference in people’s lives is most important to him.
Julian Mathews
With his career goal of being a financial advisor, Julian, a senior at Texas Christian University, worked through a program sponsored by the city of San Antonio to create his own internship with a MassMutual agent. The internship gave him the opportunity to meet with clients and obtain a fuller grasp on the concepts of insurance and investments. This was important to Julian because his father’s unexpected death when Julian was 11 left him and his mother financially vulnerable. In addition to attending school and his MassMutual job, Julian volunteers in his community and was recognized by the mayor of San Antonio for his service with the United Way.
Evan Mayhew
Evan is a senior studying accounting at Baylor University. Upon graduation, he plans to earn his CPA and hopes to gain experience working for a Big 4 accounting firm that he can ultimately use to help struggling businesses. One day he’d like to stary his own nonprofit in order to give back to his community. He has served on Baylor’s finance committee, been a member of the Deloitte FanTAXtic case competition team (a team that competes with university students from across the country on the intricacies of the tax code), and is copresident of Baylor’s student foundation. Evan is also an Eagle Scout.
Joel Olujide
Joel is majoring in economics with a concentration in finance and management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. With an interest in both venture capital and cooking, Joel started a small meal service business on Penn’s campus featuring culturally diverse cuisine. While running his business, Joel will also be interning with a Philadelphia investment firm giving him experience to support his career choice of working in the private equity/venture capital industry. Joel is serving as executive vice president for Penn’s class of 2023.
Nathan Redman-Brown
Nathan is a junior at George Fox University majoring in personal financial planning. He has a goal of working as a fee-only planner and in small business banking, and one day to teach personal finance. He also has an interest in agro-economics and recently accepted an invitation to be the economics lead on a multiyear project to create sustainable food and water sources on the island of Lesvos, Greece. Nathan carries an 18-hour credit load and maintains a 3.98 GPA while working 3 part-time jobs to help pay tuition.
Nichole Simon
Nicole is a finance major at Western Michigan University and plans on a career with an insurance company to enable clients to meet their lifetime financial goals. An upcoming internship with New York Life will help prepare her for this role. Her volunteer work advising her youth group on financial matters has also provided valuable experience toward meeting her professional aspirations.
Julie Smith
Julie is pursuing her accounting degree at Portland State University while working part time and raising a 13-year-old daughter on her own. She is a survivor of addiction and domestic abuse and is now tackling breast cancer. She remains determined to finish school and start her own business to create financial stability for herself and her daughter, Caitlyn. She says she wants to show Caitlyn how to “rise up” instead of “giving up.”
Skyler Tawney
Skyler is a senior at the University of Tampa. She is majoring in accounting and wants to sit for the CPA exam upon graduation and provide accounting services to small businesses. Eventually, she hopes to earn a master’s degree and have the opportunity to teach. For the past two years, Skyler’s mother has been fighting cancer and has been unable to help financially, so Skyler works multiple jobs and relies on scholarships in order to afford tuition. She maintains a high GPA and is on the dean’s list.
Nicholas Trotter
Nick is a senior wrapping up his personal financial planning studies at Utah Valley University. After graduation, he plans to earn his CFP and AFC credentials and work as a financial advisor, specializing in retirement or tax planning. He is also considering a graduate certificate in financial therapy, a new financial education field that addresses the interplay between psychology, relationships, and money. He is currently a financial coach and vice president of outreach of Utah Valley’s Money Success Center. Nick is an Eagle Scout and has been a missionary for his church.
Min Joo Yoo
Min is majoring in finance and accounting at the University of Southern California. The daughter of immigrants who lacked financial acumen, Min grew up moving from one homeless shelter to another. While holding multiple part-time jobs during high school, Min thrived academically and graduated as valedictorian. At USC, she is president and founder of the school’s Portfolio Management Association and vice president and founder of the Women’s Business Development Association. After graduation, she plans to earn her CPA and work for an international firm. One day she hopes to start her own consulting company. She is committed to establishing financial freedom for herself and her family.
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