Rigoberto "Rigo" Garcia joined the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants as a student member in 2015. Since then, Rigo has been an ambassador for the Society and the Washington CPA Foundation scholarship program on his campus, Seattle University (SU). A scholarship recipient since 2015, Rigo regularly attends WSCPA networking events and is a member of the Tacoma Chapter Board. In 2016, Rigo enthusiastically agreed to be a panelist for the AICPA portion of the WSCPA Ambassador event—lending his voice to the group of young professionals discussing the future of the profession.

Rigo is an honors graduate of Highline College and the first member of his family to attain higher education. He recently received his undergraduate degree in accounting from SU and is now pursuing a master's degree. During his undergraduate career, Rigo served as Vice President of Programming for Beta Alpha Psi. He was awarded the SU Messina Scholarship and Pride Foundation-GSBA scholarships for his impressive academic performance and community service.

When asked what his WSCPA membership means to him, Rigo said, "After joining the WSCPA as a student, I was able to attend networking events and meet many professionals from companies in the Seattle area. The opportunity to network with these professionals was priceless; I connected with many of them and built meaningful relationships that helped me obtain a job offer from Ernst & Young. In addition, I have had the honor to receive a Washington CPA Foundation scholarship for two consecutive years, which has helped me throughout my educational career."

To recognize his passion and service to the WSCPA and the accounting profession, Rigo was awarded the WSCPA's Rising Star award for 2015-2016. “We look forward to seeing the outstanding impact Rigoberto will continue to have on the profession,” said Monette Anderson, WSCPA Academic Relations Coordinator.

Rigo will sit for the CPA exam and begin an internship at Ernst & Young in January 2017.