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Daniel Perrino, who graduated this spring with his bachelor\u2019s in accounting from Florida International University\u2019s College of Business, didn\u2019t know what to think when he was asked to report to the office of Ruth Ann Mc Ewen<\/a>, director of the School of Accounting, in early May.<\/p>\n Yet his concerns were assuaged in the nicest way when Mc Ewen presented him with a $10,000 scholarship, bestowed on Perrino by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, better known as the PCAOB.<\/p>\n \u201cI was super happy,\u201d said Perrino. \u201cIt really moved me.\u201d<\/p>\n Perrino was nominated by the FIU faculty, who passed his name on to PCAOB, the Washington, D.C.-based entity that oversees public company audits. In 2011, PCAOB began offering scholarships to a select group of students \u2013 last year they numbered just over 70 — funded from PCAOB-assessed penalties.<\/p>\n Hard work overcomes obstacles.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Like many an FIU student, Perrino began his career at Miami-Dade College. He moved to Miami from Venezuela five years ago, and, despite at first speaking no English, a few years later had earned his associate\u2019s in business administration. He then transferred to FIU.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there was sadness. Soon after moving to the states, Perrino\u2019s mom passed away, a blow to his close-knit family that was particularly hard on Perrino and his brother, who also lives in Miami and attended FIU. But it didn\u2019t stop either of them.<\/p>\n \u201cOur grandfather, dad and mom taught us to get up from things like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Perrino graduated magna cum laude with a 3.7 GPA. He joined Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting and finance student honor society, where he served as president for two semesters. During his tenure, BAP, for the third year in a row, received Gold chapter designation, an award given to competing chapters that have shown innovation, results, leadership and dedication to the betterment of their membership.<\/p>\n \u201cHard work really does pay off,\u201d Perrino said. \u201cYou probably don\u2019t see it when you are working hard, but it pays off in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n