Accounting Student Peter Thomason Receives National Scholarship Award

AGA Leadership Conference Scholarship recipients. Peter Thomason is centered on the back row.

A $1,000 scholarship from the Association of Government Accountants opened doors for Mississippi College student Peter Thomason to network with hundreds of financial leaders.

At a blitz of AGA leadership conference meetings in Washington, the 22-year-old MC accounting major received an excellent introduction to government accounting and learned much more.

In late February, Thomason joined MC accounting professor Billy Morehead to mingle with nearly 700 financial professionals at the AGA leadership conference in Washington, D.C.

The Helena, Alabama resident was among eight college students nationwide to receive this prestigious honor.

“We are proud of his accomplishments,” says Morehead, the AGA’s former national president and treasurer. The Alabama native, he said, is an outstanding representative of the Mississippi College School of Business.

A graduate of the Hope Christian School, Thomason lives just south of Birmingham. His older sister attended Mississippi College and got him interested in enrolling at the Baptist-affiliated university in Clinton. After taking two introductory accounting classes with MC business professor Chris Smith, Pete made the field his career choice.

Thomason plans to go into public accounting or perhaps government accounting. In the immediate future, the senior expects to attend Mississippi College this fall and begin work on his MBA.

While he contemplates career options, “I hope to be able to honor God and work hard for His glory,” Thomason said.

Thomason’s award follows last year’s AGA scholarship recipient Kimberly Sledge, a 21-year-old MC accounting student from Puckett, Mississippi. Scholarships are based on student academic achievements, community involvement, essays, and an interest in the financial management profession.

Founded in 1950, the Association of Government Accountants represents more than 14,000 professionals in state, local and federal government sectors, private enterprise, the academic world and retirees.

After nearly three decades in financial management in Mississippi, Morehead says he’s “passionate about encouraging students to explore government careers,” and was delighted to learn about Thomason’s award.

While in Washington, D.C., the Mississippi College student explored some of the city’s many attractions. Thomason visited the White House, the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Air & Space Museum.