UH Hilo business student Martha Aten receives prestigious $15K accounting scholarship
Martha Miochy Aten is from Chuuk, Federated Stated of Micronesia, and is earning a bachelor of business administration in accounting, planning to graduate next year.
By Susan Enright.
A business student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has been selected as a recipient of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars Program award. The PCAOB is an organization established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in the United States. This prestigious scholarship awards $15,000 to exceptional accounting students from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited programs, of which UH Hilo’s College of Business and Economics qualifies.
Martha Aten is from Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, where in high school she was valedictorian at Berea Christian School and later at Xavier High School. At Xavier, she received the most prestigious Bishop Kennally Award in recognition of her service, resilience, and academic achievement.
Consistently showing up on the UH Hilo College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List, she is earning a bachelor of business administration in accounting, expecting to graduate next year. She says on her LinkedIn page that math is her favorite subject. In her second year at UH Hilo, she was a recipient of the Dr. Joakim Peter Memorial Scholarship.
The PCAOB Scholars Program’s overarching goals are to (1) benefit outstanding students who are likely to become auditors and (2) make a difference to eligible students who might otherwise pursue a different career path. Students are identified and nominated by their institutions. PCAOB encourages participating colleges and universities to give special consideration to students from populations that have been historically underrepresented in the accounting profession.
Aten’s future plans are focused on returning home to help with education.
“The one thing that truly hits me is the fact that there are not that many teachers to educate the future leaders of Chuuk, the kids,” she says. “My future plan is to […] aid the Department of Education in coming up with a program that is similar to the future educator’s program that I joined during my years in high school. The whole purpose of creating a program is to spread awareness towards high school students that this is what we really need in Chuuk. We need teachers in order to educate and build strong leaders for the future of Chuuk.”
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
