Sarah Hudock, a junior Accounting student at Youngstown State University, has earned the 2025-26 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Student Scholarship, receiving a total of $15,000.

“I’m extremely honored to be chosen for this recognition by the PCAOB. This scholarship will allow me to continue my studies at YSU and, in the future, use the skills I’ve learned in the classroom to become a successful and diligent audit professional,” said Hudock.

Hudock recently completed an accounting internship with First National Bank as part of their Risk Team in the Internal Audit Department this past summer.

Hudock is working as a student employee in Williamson College of Business Administration’s Office of the Dean and is a member of the WCBA Student Leadership Council and the Navarro Executive Fellows Program.

Hudock has made the President’s List every semester from Fall 2023 through Spring 2025, is a member of the Sokolov Honors College and received the YSU Excellence in Writing Award.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 provides funds from the collection of PCAOB monetary penalties used to fund a merit scholarship program for students in accredited accounting degree programs. Recipients are nominated by their respective institutions. Institutions participate in the scholarship program based on their accreditation and the number of students who graduate with accounting degrees each year.

In August 2024, the PCAOB announced that a record 676 students from U.S. colleges and universities were selected to receive scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year, up from 369 scholarship awards in 2023 and 250 in 2022. In addition, for the first time ever, each PCAOB Scholar received a $15,000 award this year, up from $10,000 previously. The Board has made it a priority to expand the PCAOB’s support for students choosing to pursue careers in accounting and investor protection, including expansion of the PCAOB Scholars program.