Leaman was one of three students selected as Outstanding Graduate Students in the accounting program. Harnish was awarded the Federation of Schools of Accounting (FSA) Outstanding Masters Student award, an annual honor conferred at FSA full-membership schools to fifth-year students in master’s degree programs.

Leaman plans to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in July and begin working at Brown Edwards & Company, a Harrisonburg public accounting firm, as a CPA by the start of August.

Harnish too will be starting a job this summer. In July he moves to Baltimore, Maryland, where he will begin working at the Baltimore office of McGladrey as a tax associate. Harnish was one of 87 national FSA award recipients, according to the FSA website’s 2014 list of recipients, but each FSA member school establishes its own award criteria, making each award a unique honor. This year’s JMU FSA award recipient was selected for his promise as a future PhD-holder and possible faculty member.

In response to the award and his future plans for his education, Harnish said he expects to pursue a doctorate five to seven years from now, after working in public practice.

The JMU College of Business accounting program faculty selected the four accounting students for recognition at this spring’s graduation. Leaman, Harnish and the other two students received their awards in a pre-graduation ceremony on May 8.

Leaman and Harnish both graduated from JMU this past month with master’s of science degrees in accounting – Leaman with a concentration in taxation. Harnish graduated with a dual degree in and economics while Leaman was an accounting major and economics minor. By taking summer classes and full course loads for two semesters, they were able to complete the master’s degree program at JMU in just one year.

Faculty, staff and fellow students nominated the recipients, who were cited for their “significant and verifiable impact” on the university and on student life; for their contributions to developing the institution’s positive image; for substantial contributions to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area and beyond; for their high academic and social standing; and their embodiment of 91����Ƶ’s shared values of Christian discipleship, community, service and .

They wore gold and blue cords as they graduated on Sunday, April 28.

Blue represents strength of conviction that one person can help to create a better institution or community. Gold represents the love of spirit and yearning toward creating a better university environment or community.

2013 recipients

• Nels Akerson, a biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Michael Allen, a liberal arts degree recipient from Fork Union, Va.
• Jossimar Diaz-Castro, a philosophy and theology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Ryan Eshleman, a philosophy and theoogy and biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Darian Harnish, an accounting degree recipient from Manheim, Pa.
• Josh Kanagy, a psychology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Julia Schmidt, a history degree recipient from Pandora, Ohio.
• Hannah Schrock, a biology degree recipient from Kalona, Ia.
• Kelley Schroder, a music degree recipient from Leesburg, Va.
• James Souder, an environmental sustainability degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.

“My supervisors and division chief have taken time to bring me on board with projects that I am interested in,” said Harnish, a senior at 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ). “I have had the opportunity to work on projects ranging from preparing reports and presentations to compiling and vetting data for a database.”

Competitive from 91����Ƶ

“One of my big fears when I put in my deposit at 91����Ƶ was that I would not have access to the same opportunities students at some of the larger and more well-known universities do,” said Harnish. “My acceptance into this fellowship calmed that fear as well as reaffirming the fact that 91����Ƶ has prepared me to enter my field.”

Harnish’s BEA internship was part of a junior fellowship from the Joint Program of Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland.

“I knew I did not want to return to throwing mulch again this summer and immediately looked into the program,” said Harnish. “The fellowship program matches each fellow with a bureau and I was fortunate enough to end up in an economics agency.”

The fellowship program placed undergrads in federal statistical agencies and hosted field visits and seminars on survey methodology. Weekly seminars were held on the University of Maryland campus.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the Chief Statistician of the United States and tour many of the other bureaus, including the ,” said Harnish.

Beyond theory

In addition, Harnish found the fellowship program was a way to move “beyond theory and explore math.”

“While I enjoyed my course in survey methodology, I was more interested in the possibility of working for one of the federal economics agencies. I saw this program as a good way to move beyond theory and explore the math.”

In his internship, Harnish said he got hands-on experience using concepts taught by Chris Gingrich, professor of , and , associate professor of business and economics. In addition, “Chris (Gingrich) and Jim (Leaman) pushed me to develop my communication skills, both written and verbal, which was very helpful.”