Jonathan Booth believes in recognizing the people who helped him succeed. That’s why he named a scholarship to the LSU accounting department after his mother and volunteers with Junior Achievement.
“I feel like I’ve been given a lot of great opportunities,” he says. “It only feels right
to honor the people who allowed me to do
what I’m able to do.”
In 2006, Booth won the Elijah Watt Sells Award, which is presented to the 10 highest scorers on the Uniform CPA Exam. He was the first LSU graduate to win the award, showing the school can produce the same caliber of students as such nationally respected accounting schools as the University of Illinois and University of Texas.
In honor of Booth’s achievement, his aunt, Mary Dumestre, and uncle, Guy Johnson, set up a $1,000 accounting scholarship at LSU.
“It felt good to be able to pay back LSU for the opportunities they gave me and the chance to get a good job,” he says.
Instead of taking the honor for himself, Booth requested the scholarship be named after his mother, Angele M. Dumestre, who died of cancer in 2005. Booth says he couldn’t have done as well on the CPA exam without his mother’s help.
“She always told me I could do anything I wanted and succeed as long as I did my best,” he says. “I felt it was right to let her be recognized.”
Booth started working with Junior Achievement for similar reasons.
“When I was in high school, someone came in from Junior Achievement, one of the CEOs from a local hospital,” he says. “It was a great opportunity to learn about economics, and I want to give students that chance.”
As part of his work with Junior Achievement, Booth works with underprivileged elementary school students, teaching them the basics of personal finance.
“If one kid learns how to balance a checkbook because of this,” he says, “then things will be much better.”
Age: 25
What is Baton Rouge’s biggest strength in the quest to attract young professionals?
“It’s a thriving and growing town that has a lot of opportunity where you can get in at the ground up.”
Click here for the complete list of 2008's Forty Under 40 winners.
Comments
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)