Honorable Mention Winner
Sherman Curry
Florida A&M University
Sophomore in Business Administration
4.0 GPA

“There are individuals who only stay within the boundaries of their potential, while others contemplate and attempt the unimaginable,” says Sherman Curry, 21. The latter describes Curry.

When Curry began attending Florida A&M University, he began to ponder the lack of support finance and accounting students receive when studying and preparing for their professional examinations. He set out to establish some kind of organization to assist his fellow students.

Curry met with the Institute of Management Accountant’s Director of Student Programs. In their discussion, Curry explained the complications facing his fellow finance and accounting students. After their meeting, Curry realized that he should establish a student chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants. Since the start of the FAMU IMA chapter, Curry has raised about $3,000 to help the chapter strengthen the members’ skills in preparing for their exams.

Curry has worked hard to secure a prosperous future for the FAMU IMA chapter. He and other members visited local high schools to promote the benefits of FAMU IMA membership by elaborating on career opportunities available in the accounting profession. “This organization I founded has the potential to reach hundreds of students at FAMU,” Curry says.

By participating in community-service programs, Curry has influenced students to follow in his footsteps. While speaking at the Second Annual Honors Banquet at James A. Shanks High School—his former high school—Curry reached students. “After delivering my speech, I received numerous comments from high school seniors who disclosed that I had been a major influence in their lives,” Curry says. The high school seniors admired Curry’s success. “I'm very flattered that individuals think so kindly of me. The goal is for residents of Quincy to have the desire to go to college themselves.”

“Sherman is a very determined young man with a sense of dedication and determination,” says Maxwell D. Jackson, director of guidance at Shanks High. According to Van P. Williams, assistant professor and director of TRIO at FAMU, “I believe Sherman’s success is a result of his goal-oriented personality. Certainly, Sherman exhibits the qualities of a scholar as a result of his eagerness to learn and demand he places on himself to strive for excellence.”

Curry also participated in the Internal Revenue Service’s Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Through this community service program, Curry prepared tax returns for low-income individuals in the surrounding communities of Tallahassee. “As the individuals came to the local community center, I saw a smile on their faces that represented a realization that I was there to help,” Curry says.

Curry has received such honors as School of Business and Industry Pin of Leadership, School of Business and Industry Plaque of Leadership, Dean’s List, Leadership Identification Development Certificate, and All-American Scholar.

All of Curry’s educational expenses are covered by scholarships.  SS

Contact Curry at shermanmaurice@aol.com