PCAOB, a nonprofit corporation that oversees the audits of public companies, awards academic scholarships to undergraduate and graduate accounting students at accredited U.S. universities who are likely to become accountants and auditors. The awardees must be nominated by their institution.

UOG Professor of Accounting Doreen Crisostomo nominated Santos for the merit-based scholarship because of her community service and willingness to help fellow students.

“I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Tiera Santos inside and outside of the classroom. She is a reliable, self-disciplined accounting student and goes the extra mile to help her peers at the university,” Crisostomo said. “In giving back to her for her hard work, this scholarship was a great opportunity to help reduce her financial burden so she can focus on what’s important — continuing her path to success with an undergraduate accounting degree.”

Santos thanked Crisostomo for the nomination and for guiding her through the accounting program. She will receive the funds in August to fund her tuition for the 2021–2022 academic year. 

“This scholarship honestly means everything to me. Despite my parents constantly insisting that I shouldn’t worry about paying for school, I always do. Paying back my school loans has been a significant cause of stress, sometimes even more than classes. Receiving this scholarship is like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” Santos said. “I am beyond blessed not to have to worry about paying for tuition for the following two semesters.”

Santos plans to graduate in December 2022 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from UOG’s School of Business and Public Administration. After graduation, she plans to complete the Certified Public Accountant exam and pursue a master’s degree in accounting. She is interested in working for an accounting firm and teaching accounting at the University of Guam.

Past PCAOB Scholars from UOG:

• Jonathan Yanger (2020)