##Tamara K. Hield: BBA – Accounting
Tamara is one of four (4) finalists in this year’s Financial Services Student of the Year programme that recognises an outstanding graduating student from within the School of Business, College of the Bahamas. This includes all financial services relevant disciplines: economics, banking & finance, accountancy and law – and also extends to computer information systems, marketing, and management.
A 2012 COB graduate, Tamara had the distinction of attaining the COB President’s Honour Roll Award. Previously, at the Jack Hayward High School, where her business studies concentrated on Accounts, Economics & Computer Science, she was awarded the Operation A+ Top Achievers Award as well as the Outstanding Students in Bahamian High Schools Academic Award.
While pursuing her Bachelors Degree, Tamara worked as a junior accountant (co-opt student) at Deloitte & Touche, playing an instrumental role in the launch of the PowerSchool system on Grand Bahama, and assisting senior auditors on audit engagements. She also racked up extensive work experience during summer stints with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Ministry of Labour.
Tamara has a special interest in advancing the nation’s youth, and has offered homework assistance services in her spare time; in fact, she has aspirations of opening an educational centre for youths in her community. She also plans to attend Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies to attain a graduate degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Public Finance Policy – with possibly a career as a budget analyst in the future. She points to the growing complexity of the nation’s financial obligations which would indicate the need for trained professionals with the knowledge and skills to interpret “the full social, political, economic, and technical dimensions” of the national budget. In this connection another goal is to take the Certified Government Financial Manager exam.
This awards initiative has been a joint venture of BFSB, the College of the Bahamas, and the Central Bank of the Bahamas, with a Working Group and Selection Committee comprising representatives from the BFSB-spearheaded Professional Industry Association Working Group (PIAWG) along with the COB and the CBOB. A sub group from the COB retains responsibility for submitting the initial list of candidates, based on established criteria.The COB team is responsible for providing a short list of candidates, based on academic qualifications and other criteria, and to provide graded profiles of each student. The Industry Selections Committee completes the judging through an interview process and written submission.
The Student of the Year award will be presented at the annual [FSI Excellence Awards Banquet](https://bfsb-bahamas.com/news.php?cmd=view&id=3135&pre=y) on November 9, Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort.