Westminster College senior accounting major Ben Gandolfi served on a student panel for the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Passport to Opportunity program Oct. 12 at Grove City College.

Gandolfi, PICPA's student representative at Westminster, was contacted by PICPA headquarters in Philadelphia to serve on the four-member panel that included two representatives from the host school and one from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.  In addition to the panel, the program also featured guest speakers working in the accounting field.

The event was presented to about 40 western Pennsylvania high school students to encourage careers in accounting, according to Jesse Ligo, Westminster associate professor of accounting, Gandolfi's academic adviser, and a PICPA member.

"I really wish my high school would have offered me a similar opportunity," Gandolfi said.  "I know some high school students have no idea where they want to go to college or what they want to major in.  I hope I was able to help them get a better understanding of the college selection process, as well as what it's like to be an accounting major.  It was interesting listening to the guest speakers, learning about their experiences in public accounting, and good to get some insight into what the real world is like, since I'm about to enter it."

"Ben did a great job representing Westminster," Ligo said.

Gandolfi is a son of John and Sandy Gandolfi of Home and a graduate of Marion Center Area High School.

Ligo, a Westminster graduate who joined the faculty in 2008, earned an MBA from Bowling Green State University and is a certified public accountant in Pennsylvania.

Contact Ligo at (724) 946-7167 or email for additional information.

Ben Gandolfi