More than 100 members of the New Jersey Society of CPAs visited high schools throughout the state during 2019 as part of the CPA Career Awareness program, which educates on the benefits of an accounting career.

NJCPA members met with more than 3,000 students, discussing topics such as day-to-day professional life and what courses are necessary on the road to becoming a CPA.

The program urges NJCPA members with ties to a particular community or high school to speak with students on the benefits of an accounting career.

“It’s a great opportunity to explain first-hand what it means to be an accountant,” said Christopher Haspilaire, a tax consultant II at Deloitte and member of the NJCPA, in a statement. “The students are always very interested and eager to learn.”

“I am always impressed with how much time and energy our members give to help students and aspiring CPAs. It’s very rewarding to hear why someone went into the profession and find out what steps others can take,” said Ralph Albert Thomas, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA, in a statement.

NJCPA members also discussed the NJCPA Scholarship Fund, which awards $7,000 scholarships to college-bound high school seniors in the state who intend to major in or obtain a concentration in accounting. The fund also awards $6,500 one-year scholarships to New Jersey accounting students at local colleges or universities who are currently in their junior or senior year and are entering an accounting-related graduate program. The fund awarded more than $350,000 in scholarships in 2019 to 75 high school and college students.

For more on NJCPA scholarships, head to the society’s site here.