Strictly Business awards a scholarship to a resident of Clinton, Essex or Franklin County who is a full-time student in SUNY Plattsburgh’s School of Business & Economics. The 2017 winner of the scholarship is Ellen Silverman, a rising senior who is triple major- ing in Accounting, Business Administration, and Management Information Systems.

Born in Peru, and a graduate of Peru Central School, Ellen said that through elementary and most of high school, she wanted to be a math teacher. An accounting class her senior year changed all that.

Through Peru’s College Advancement Program (CAP) she was able to start at SUNY Plattsburgh with 30 credits, but instead of graduating early, she decided to stay and take advantage of the opportunity to explore her field, taking internships in internal auditing and corporate compliance. She will graduate with 150 credits and will be ready to sit for the CPA exam before she graduates.

Once she’s done with her degrees, she hopes to go into forensic auditing. “I want to solve tough problems, and continue challenging myself,” she said.