Richardson named Outstanding Senior Woman at North Central College

NAPERVILLE — North Central College recognized Christina Richardson of Spring Valley as the Outstanding Senior Woman for 2014 during the College’s annual Honors Convocation on May 13.

The annual award recognizes one senior woman for her successes in the classroom, her involvement and contributions to the campus community outside the classroom, and her future potential.

Richardson is majoring in accounting with a CPA focus. She also carries a Leadership, Ethics and Values (LEV) concentration and minor in finance. In addition to being named the Outstanding Senior Woman, she received the Outstanding Major in Accounting Award and is a College Scholar, North Central’s prestigious honors program. Her name regularly appears on the dean’s list of scholars and she has helped prepare tax returns with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

“Christina is by far the ‘perfect’ student and role model to her peers,” said Sarah Lureau, assistant professor of accounting. “Despite having a rigorous major, completing an honors thesis and having a resume filled with various leadership roles around campus, her GPA is a perfect 4.0.”

For the past two years, Richardson has served as a mentor to first-year students and orientation staff leader. Her involvement on campus extends to many areas, including serving as a comptroller for various student organizations, as an accounting tutor, and president to the leadership development co-curricular group LEVerage, the Blue Key Honor Society and the Student Accounting Society. She is a member of the Senior Class Gift Committee and the finance committee for the Student Governing Association.

Richardson also has participated in various D-Term trips, visiting New Orleans and traveling abroad to Guatemala. Her 2014 poster presentation at North Central’s Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research focused on her study in Guatemala and fair trade certification for the coffee farmers there. Most recently, she was part of a panel discussion with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin who visited campus in May to discuss student loan debt.

After graduation in June, Richardson will pursue a master’s degree in accounting science, working as a teaching assistant at Northern Illinois University, before beginning a position as a tax accountant at EY, formerly Ernst & Young, where she’s held two internships as a student.