Congratulations to the 2026 NJCPA Scholarship Recipients

 – April 23, 2026
Congratulations to the 2026 NJCPA Scholarship Recipients

We are delighted to announce that the NJCPA Scholarship Fund awarded $188,000 in scholarships to 44 New Jersey-based high school and college students on April 23. The Fund distributed scholarships to 30 college students and 14 high school students. The college students each received between $2,000 and $6,500, and the high school students each received $1,500. The Fund distributed NJCPA/American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Minority Scholarships as well as NJCPA/National Association of Black Accountants – Northern New Jersey (NABA-NNJ) Chapter Awards and several in-name of/company awards. The scholarships were based on academic performance, standardized test scores (if taken), essays and personal interviews.

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients:

High School Awards ($1,500)

  • Daniel Amalfitano, Hanover Park High School
  • Kayla Capobianco, Montville Township High School
  • Aayushi Chauhan, Bridgewater Raritan High School
  • Talia DiCristofaro, Williamstown High School 
  • Lindsey Duverger, Hamilton High School East
  • Maxim Gulko, Holmdel High School
  • Evelynne Leong, Northern Valley Region – Old Tappan High School
  • Emma Miele, Point Pleasant Boro High School
  • Sofia Muller, Sayreville War Memorial High School
  • Isabella Nieves, Wall Township High School
  • Valentina Russino, Southern Regional High School
  • Connor Shea, Park Ridge High School

Deloitte Foundation NJCPA Scholars Awards ($1,500-$6,500)

  • Amna Ali Bukhari, Montville Township High School
  • Mary Ojo, Arts High School
  • Nader Ayoub, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
  • Amina Bakyt, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
  • Alex Gonzalez, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
  • Avni Kondra, Rutgers University – New Brunswick

In Name of/Company College Awards ($2,000-$6,500)

  • Bowman and Company, LLP - In Memory of John F. Dailey Jr., CPA
    Rylee Cascone, Stockton University
  • Bowman and Company, LLP - In Memory of Lisa A. Donahue, CPA 
    Nicole Boskey, Rutgers University – Newark
  • Citrin Cooperman 
    Avneet Kaur, Middlesex County College 
    Reese Passuth, Rutgers University – Newark
  • CohnReznick LLP 
    Kole Federico, Seton Hall University
  • EisnerAmper  
    Olivia Borella, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
  • Forvis Mazars  
    Ronald Lopez, Seton Hall University 
  • Holman Frenia Allison, PC   
    Madison Lanham, Rowan University
  • In Honor of NJCPA Past President Brad E. Muniz, CPA   
    Angelina Harris, Montclair State University
  • In Honor of NJCPA Past President Frank Boutillette, CPA   
    Kalila Scott, Rutgers University – Newark
  • In Honor of NJCPA Past President Michael A. Polito, CPA   
    Anthony Cuccio, Rider University
  • In Honor of Valerie Thomas, CPA, and former NJCPA CEO and Executive Director Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (D.C., inactive)   
    Moutar Sampil, Rutgers University – Newark
  • In Memory of Alan J. Preis, CPA  
    Anuvhuti Bisht, Hudson County Community College 
    Alexis Tanasy, The College of New Jersey 
  • In Memory of former NJCPA Chief Operating Officer Theresa A. Hinton   
    Silah Mrazek, The College of New Jersey
  • In Memory of Frederick and Lenore Horn  
    Jessica DiCristina, Fairleigh Dickinson University
    Charles Spinrad, Fairleigh Dickinson University 
  • In Memory of NJCPA Past President John F. Dailey, Jr., CPA    
    Shayla Hascek, Rowan University
  • NJCPA Council of Past Presidents    
    Nicholas Palmadesso, Ramapo College of New Jersey
  • SKC & Co. CPAs     
    Angelene Mattingly, Ramapo College of New Jersey
  • Smolin, Lupin & Co.
    Sarah Pajaro, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
  • WilkinGuttenplan - In Memory of Jules C. Frankel, CPA
    Michael DeRiso, Stevens Institute of Technology
  • WithumSmith+Brown   
    Carey Werheim, Seton Hall University 
    Irene Wong, Rutgers University – New Brunswick

    Minority Scholarships ($5,500)

    • NJCPA/American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
      To be announced.
    • NJCPA/National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) – Northern New Jersey Chapter
      Odane Daley, The College of New Jersey 
      Kalila Scott, Rutgers University – Newark

    To support the NJCPA Scholarship Fund, visit njcpa.org/scholarship.