Left to right: Amanda Rzepka (BUS ’07), Senior Instructor Margaret Tower and Miriam Ahmed pose at the event.
Every year the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) hosts an awards ceremony to recognize individuals in the CPA community who demonstrate impressive leadership and accomplishments in the accounting profession. The 2021 event took place in September at the Radisson Aqua Hotel in Chicago and included a networking breakfast, keynote and awards ceremony.
One of the awardees was School of Accountancy & MIS alumna Amanda Rzepka (BUS ’07), who received the Woman to Watch Award as an Emerging Leader. Rzepka, who is an accounting manager at Berlin Packaging, has been a member of the Illinois CPA Society for 14 years and currently serves as a coinvestigative coordinator and a member of the Ethics committee.
Another DePaul awardee was Miriam Ahmed, a student in the School of Accountancy & MIS. Ahmed, who aspires to become a public accountant, won a $4,000 scholarship with the Advancing Women in Accounting Award—an opportunity she discovered through her accounting career exploration class at DePaul.
“I’m honored to be the recipient of this scholarship,” says Ahmed. “This support is an inspiration for me to complete my degree and become a future leader in the CPA profession.”
Senior Instructor Margaret Tower, who taught both Rzepka and Ahmed, was a guest at the event. She says she couldn’t stop smiling when she witnessed her former students receiving these awards.
“It was so rewarding to hear Miriam and Amanda speak about how well their education at DePaul prepared them for their careers. While I was fortunate to hear their thanks, I wish all of their professors could be there,” says Tower. “I know both of these women well. Amanda has been out of school for over ten years and has frequently volunteered to mentor DePaul students. Miriam will soon graduate and promises to remain active at DePaul. It made me so proud to see how well DePaul was represented at this event.”
By Mitchel Lister