Xero has announced the inaugural recipients of its Xero Forward Fund, a $30,000 scholarship fund which benefits three students who represent the "next generation of accountants."
Winners include Jinhua Johnson of the University of Washington; Brody Mandelbaum of the University of Florida; and Mwaka Namfukwe of Eastern Michigan University. Each student received a $10,000 scholarship to apply to their tuition or other educational costs.
Xero accounting and bookkeeping partners nominated students for the scholarship. Nominees were judged on video or essay submissions that addressed their accounting careers and how they envision the profession changing in the future.
"We’re pleased to recognize Jinhua, Brody and Mwaka as our first student winners of the Xero Forward Fund," Xero wrote in a statement. "We’re impressed by their plans to help shape the future of the industry, become the next generation of leaders and step up to the challenge of providing even greater value to clients."
In addition to the students' scholarships, their nominating firms also received $10,000 in co-op marketing funds. These firms include the QuickSource, Bookkeeper Buddy and Cloud Accounting & Consulting, respectively.
For more on the scholarship and its winners, head to Xero's
