SIUE Alum Dust Receives AICPA Elijah Watt Sells Award
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alum Lora Beth Dust BS ‘14 is one of 60 winners nationwide of the Elijah Watt Sells Award. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) made the announcement in mid-April.
This award is a high honor given to candidates who obtain the following criteria: a cumulative average score of 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, passed each section on their first attempt and completed the testing in 2014. This past year, 91,384 individuals took the exam, with only 60 of those receiving the Elijah Watt Sells Award
A Teutopolis native, Dust graduated from SIUE with a bachelor’s in accountancy and is currently employed at McGladrey in Chicago, where she now resides.
Dust dedicated her decision to sit for the CPA exam to her SIUE professors in the School of Business. “They emphatically stressed the value of the CPA designation and did a great job of preparing me for the CPA exam,” she said.
Dust noted that Steve Brant, PhD and an accounting instructor, was especially important during her exam preparation, and played a vital role in her academic and professional success.
The personal attention the professors at the SIUE School of Business were able to provide helped me develop and maintain a strong base of business knowledge,” said Dust.
In 1923, the AICPA founded the award with the intent to recognize and honor outstanding performance on the CPA examination. With such demanding criteria, only the most deserving of people who take the CPA examination earn the award.
