KPMG rewards student diversity

KPMG LLP, the audit tax and advisory firm, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 21, the launch of its Future Diversity Leaders program, designed to provide leadership training and financial support for outstanding minority undergraduate students. The program is part of its continuing effort to increase the minority group representation in the field of accounting.

Among the 50 selected students for the program were two Baruch College undergraduate business students, Shruti Karnawat and Ruth Fortune.

Prior to applying, they had to be nominated by Hayden Noel, assistant professor of marketing at Baruch College. Also, the requirements for the FDL included an essay on the "Importance of Diversity in Our Lives", along with SAT scores, a minimum 3.5 GPA and active community and campus involvement.

The selection process included an interview with a KPMG recruiter to evaluate students' active participation in schools and community. Karnawat heard about the FDL program through INROADS, informing her of a great opportunity to go to California with KPMG, which was certainly a strong incentive for her to apply for the program.

Karnawat, 18, a sophomore at the Macaulay Honors College, accounting major, stated, "The program was a great opportunity to meet so many intelligent people from different walks of life and interact with them for three days. Each one of us had something we could learn from the other, and the activities we partook in let us do just that."

The 50 selected students, representing 32 schools across the nation, completed the FDL's inaugural three-day leadership conference in Hollywood, Ca. this summer, where they had the opportunity to interact and network with industry leaders, professors and KPMG professionals.

Manny Fernandez, national managing partner of Campus Recruiting, added, "While the students selected for the program are all academically strong, the Future Diversity Leaders program takes their learning a step further, providing these students with some of the extra skills, knowledge, and business perspective they need to become the business leaders of tomorrow, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and feel that a focused program such as this can help increase the number of minority business leaders in the accounting profession and other areas of business."

Finance major Ruth Fortune, 19, said, "The FDL Program not only furthers my intellect, it helps me prepare for continual success."

Upon successful completion of their summer internship prior to their junior year, Karnawat and Fortune will become eligible for additional scholarship money, as well as an offer to remain in the intern program the following summer.

The internship prior to their senior year is "Practice Internship," where the participants of FDL will gain hands-on experience with clients in their chosen business area.

These students would also be mentored by KPMG professional.

With so many opportunities available for students to succeed career-wise and in a teamwork environment, the expectations are that students will take advantage of all the diversity programs and club related organizations in school.

Career couselors recommended that students start obtaining internships ealier, rather than later, in their college career.