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Rio Salado Student Brenda Perez-Palacios Receives 2022 Accounting Scholarship
Rio Salado College accounting student Brenda Perez-Palacios was one of several students to receive a 2022 scholarship from Teachers of Accounting at Two Year Colleges (TACTYC). The TACTYC Scholarship provides $1,000 to eligible students who are attending a two-year college with plans to pursue a certificate or degree in accounting.
Rio Salado Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Risk Management & Insurance, and Small Business Faculty Chair Dr. Lily Davidov sponsored Perez-Palacios for the scholarship.
“Brenda is deserving of the TACTYC scholarship because she completes her assignments with high attention to detail, and shows passion and desire to expand her accounting knowledge,” Davidov said.
Dr. Davidov also sponsored Rio student Radhika Murthy, who received the TACTYC scholarship in 2021.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Perez-Palacios is currently a full-time student who’s interested in starting a career in accounting. She is pursuing an associate in general business at Rio Salado and is on track to graduate in December 2022.
“I decided to take classes at Rio because it allowed me to safely continue my education during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Perez-Palacios said.
A diligent and ambitious student, Perez-Palacios graduated high school a year ahead of most of her peers. Being a junior year graduate posed unique challenges for her, however, when she tried to find scholarships for online universities.
“It made it hard to find scholarships I qualified for,” Perez-Palacios said. “Rio Salado has not only financially supported me in my education with a merit scholarship, but they offered the flexibility to begin classes any Monday.”
As an Accounting student, Perez-Palacios benefited from the program’s accelerated learning options. The Accounting program offers shorter and longer week options for their courses, ranging 6-14 weeks (depending on the class).
Reflecting on her time at Rio Salado, Perez-Palacios singles out her ACC112 (Accounting Principles II) as her favorite class. “I really enjoyed the format and the concepts taught,” she said. “My favorite experience has been interacting with students and faculty members through the honors program, NSLS, and PTK.”
In Spring 2023, Perez-Palacios plans to start working toward a bachelor's in business administration with a concentration in accounting at Western Governors University, one of Rio Salado’s transfer partners.
“I would really like to earn my CPA license and start a career in accounting,” she said.