Texas A&M-Kingsville Lecturer Receives Outstanding Accounting Educator Award       

KINGSVILLE (October 29, 2013) — Adria Vasquez is a Certified Public Accountant and accounting lecturer in the College of Business Administration at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She is now the Outstanding Accounting Educator as named by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA).               

The statewide TSCPA Outstanding Accounting Educator Awards honor Texans who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and who have distinguished themselves through active service to the accounting profession.              

“Professor Vasquez’ TSCPA award is a culmination of many years of her hard work for Texas A&M-Kingsville, particularly with her VITA program service learning leadership,” said Dr. Carol E. Sullivan, chair of the accounting and finance department. “She constantly goes the extra mile with others as she integrates the ‘real world of accounting’ into her classes and serves in many leadership capacities with both the community and the profession.   “As colleagues, we are very proud of Professor Vasquez. It reflects well on her, the accounting program and the university,” she said.   This is not the first time Vasquez has received an award from the TSCPA. She earned the Rising Star Award this summer. The Rising Star Award is for CPA members 40 years old or younger who have demonstrated exemplary leadership skills and active involvement in TSCPA, the accounting profession and/or their communities.  

“TSCPA has helped me network with other CPAs all over the state who are in industry, public practice and education,” said Vasquez. “These awards bring recognition to the university as well as accounting. Having these awards helps students to think about accounting and possibly becoming accountants or learning, at least, the basics of accounting for their businesses or future jobs.”  

Vasquez was honored in part for her work with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.  

“The VITA program helps low-income taxpayers complete their tax returns for free,” she said. “It saves them money as well as allows the students to get real world experience.   “Students get to interact with taxpayers and practice their communication skills as well as their accounting skills. Doing the tax returns for the community also showcases the university and the accounting students to Kingsville and the surrounding areas,” she said.   In addition to VITA, Vasquez has played a role in course development at Texas A&M-Kingsville, including the creation of a Quickbooks class to prepare students to use the accounting software.              

 As owner of her own CPA firm, she is able to relate to her students and provide real world examples. She accompanied students on Beta Alpha Psi trips around the country, allowing students to meet with accountants from different industries, gain insight and participate in networking opportunities.   About Adria Vasquez            

Vasquez earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and her master’s degree in professional accounting in four years from the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked at Texas A&M-Kingsville since 2009 as an accounting lecturer. She also is a partner in the firm of Palacios and Palacios, P.C.               

She was previously an adjunct instructor for Del Mar College, University of the Incarnate Word and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and worked for KPMG LLP as a tax specialist.               

She is a Pre-Cana Speaker for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, participant in the UTSA Tennis League and school board member for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.  

She is an honorary recipient of the Feria De Las Flores, received the Texas A&M University System Teaching Excellence Award several times and was nominated for the Piper Professor Award.
 
Vasquez recently participated in a panel discussion through a local news station and answered tax-related questions from community members. She also has recorded public service announcements for local NPR station KEDT/KVRT-FM on a variety of personal finance topics.
 
About TSCPA
TSCPA is a non-profit, voluntary, professional organization representing Texas CPAs. The society has 20 local chapters statewide and has 27,000 members, one of the largest in-state memberships of any state CPA society in the country. TSCPA is committed to serving the public interest with programs that advance the highest standards of ethics and practice within the CPA profession.