Tamia Place and Nadir Young have been named as recipients of annual scholarship awards made by professional services firm PwC Bermuda.

Ms Place has won the Peter Mitchell Scholarship worth $20,000 annually.

Mr Young has received the PwC ABIC Award Scholarship worth $15,000 annually for two years.

PwC said the awardees share the firm’s commitment to empowering communities, solving important problems and delivering sustained outcomes.

Damian Cooper, partner and leader of the HeadStart programme at PwC, said: “We congratulate Tamia and Nadir for being our 2021 awardees. They have each distinguished themselves through their academic achievements and commitment to empowering communities. Both students share our values of collaboration, teamwork and innovation.

“Our Peter Mitchell Scholarship and PwC ABIC Award Scholarship are a fundamental part of PwC’s HeadStart programme, which provides academic financial assistance and career opportunities to Bermudian university students pursuing accounting or international business at the graduate or undergraduate level.

“The programme provides mentorship and training to young Bermudians to springboard their careers in the financial services industry.”

PwC said Ms Place is pursuing a double major in accounting and risk management and insurance at Georgia State University.

She is currently interning at PwC as part of HeadStart.

Ms Place volunteers with several organisations in Atlanta, Georgia and Bermuda that work with students and the elderly, including Lorraine Rest Home.

She said: “As a PwC intern, I have had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in my field. I love that we not only focus on our clients but also on giving back to the community through the firm’s corporate responsibility programme.

“After graduation I plan to return to Bermuda as a Certified Public Accountant and join PwC, a firm that values solving important problems and making a difference.”

PwC said Mr Young is pursuing a bachelor of business administration with a focus in accounting at Acadia University, and has been interning in the international business sector this summer.

He plans to join PwC’s HeadStart programme next year.

Mr Young is involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda organisation.

He said: “When you have a community, you have a family. That is the value that Big Brothers Big Sisters taught me. This is the idea of paying it forward; your community guides you towards success, then you invest back into the community and raise the next generation.

“Winning this scholarship means the opportunity to pursue my career aspirations. I want to obtain my CPA designation and return to work in Bermuda and continue to give back to the community.”

Since the HeadStart programme’s inception, PwC said it has hired more than 90 Bermudian graduates, provides more than $75,000 in scholarships annually and 15 summer internships and co-op opportunities each year.

The programme covers 100 per cent of CPA exam costs and study leave for students.

To learn more about PwC’s HeadStart internship and scholarship programmes, see pwc.com/bm/en/careers/student