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Preserving institutional knowledge is a challenge for student groups, especially when leaders graduate. That’s not a problem for the University of Tampa’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, and they have the award-winning best practices to prove it.

This summer, UTampa’s honor society for students in finance, accounting and related majors won second place for best practices in sustainability at the annual meeting of the organization in Baltimore, Maryland.

“I’m very proud of our students for putting their best foot forward and achieving at this level,” said Juliana Kralik, faculty advisor and accounting instructor. There are more than 300 Beta Alpha Psi chapters around the world. UTampa’s chapter also earned overall gold status for its commitment to professional development and service.

The chapter’s journey to Baltimore began with the submission of proposals in all three award categories: collaboration, innovation and sustainability. From entries around the world, only 10 chapters were chosen to present in each category at one of three mid-year meetings. UTampa was selected to present at the Orlando mid-year meeting in all three categories. “None of us expected to place at the mid-year meeting, but then Savannah Houghtalin and Justin Roethke won second in innovation” said Ava Gajewski ’26, M.S. ’27, who was then chapter president. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them smile bigger than at that moment.”

Then Gajewski and Hayden Siewert ’26 placed second in sustainability. Those mid-year results qualified the chapter to compete against nine other teams in each category in Baltimore.

“For sustainability, we shared how we are documenting everything a new board needs to know when they start so that they can make it better instead of spending time redoing it,” Gajewski said.

The annual meeting in Baltimore also exposed students to career options and helped them build their networks. “One of the panels I went to was people with unusual accounting careers, and it was a financing person for Disney, an accountant for NASCAR and a hotel management specialist,” Gajewski said.

Gajewski fit the trip around a summer internship at Raymond James Financial. “My desk was a couple desks away from the CFO’s office, so the CFO knew my name,” she said. The company has a job waiting for her when she completes her master’s in accounting at UTampa, she said.  

“I thought about going somewhere else for my master’s and getting a new experience,” Gajewski said. “But I really love all the professors that I’ve had here, and they’re the exact same for graduate school.”

Connor Griffith ’26, M.S. ’27 participated in a different track at the annual meeting in Baltimore. He competed on a “Project Run with It” team with students from Texas, Virginia and Australia. First, they met with the leader of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland to discuss a business challenge. Then, over the next 24 hours, the team formulated recommendations for the nonprofit.

“It’s basically how management consulting is done,” Griffith said. “You fly in, try to figure out what’s going on, make recommendations and head back.”

Like Gajewski, Griffith is now pursuing a master’s in accounting at UTampa. In January, he starts an internship with CLA, an accounting and professional services firm. It’s a role he found by networking at a Beta Alpha Psi career event.