The Illinois CPA Society is seeking applicants for its Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program, open to racial and ethnic minority college students pursuing careers in accounting and finance.

The all-expenses paid program, to be held in Chicago from Jan. 6-8, 2020, hosts 25 students and covers the skills needed to sucessfully navigate an accounting internship. Candidates will get to hear motivational keynotes and participate in team-building exercises, resume workshopping and interview coaching. Program participants will also receive professional headshots and a $500 scholarship to help with educational expenses.

Accounting firms hosting sessions and interviewing students for paid accounting internships will include: Abbott, Crowe, Deloitte, Ernst Young, Grant Thornton, KPMG, PwC and Sikich.

“In only three days, our program scholars learn a great deal about the CPA profession and how to navigate their way from being students to becoming professionals,” stated Kari Natale, senior director of the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see our participants become more motivated, confident, and better prepared than they ever realized was possible.”

The Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program is funded by the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois’ Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund. It is named for the first African-American woman CPA in the United States, and the internship program honors her legacy by boosting diversity in the accounting profession.

The deadline to apply to the program is Nov. 11, 2019. For more information, head to ICPAS’ site here.