Brookville, N.Y. – April 10th, 2013 – Asya Ashour, an accounting major with a love of literature, a perfect 4.0 GPA and a history of community service, is the valedictorian of the LIU Post Class of 2013. She will deliver the valedictory address at Commencement exercises on Friday, May 10 on the Great Lawn before an audience of 9,000 students, faculty, administrators, parents and honored guests.

A resident of Holtsville, N.Y., Ashour came to LIU Post as a transfer student with a pre-accounting degree from Suffolk County Community College.  Ashour was home-schooled throughout high school and enrolled at SCCC when she was just 16. Upon earning an Associate’s degree from SCCC, she was awarded a full tuition scholarship – the LIU Post/Suffolk Community College Scholarship – to attend LIU Post. The scholarship is part of SCCC’s “Stay on Long Island Initiative,” which is designed to help SCCC’s most talented graduates achieve their educational dreams of continuing their education at quality four-year colleges and universities in our region.

During her time at LIU Post, Ashour, now 20, has excelled in her major, accountancy, and has shown such an affinity for her minor, English, that English Professor James Bednarz was surprised to learn her major was another subject. “She is one of the smartest and nicest people who has ever graced our halls,” said Dr. Bednarz. “Her skill as a reader, interpreter, and writer struck me as being as advanced as the best of my English majors.”

She even managed to combine the two disciplines in her research; she has written a paper on the topic of finance in Shakespeare. As a participant in the LIU Post Honors Program for academically gifted and motivated students, she wrote a thesis on Islamic accounting and hopes to one day help settle inconsistencies in Islamic accounting standards.

Ashour said her studies at the LIU Post School of Professional Accountancy took her from a fundamental knowledge of her field –journal entries, complex calculations and financial statements – to an understanding of the underlying human foundations of the accounting and business world. She said she can now take a piece of information, understand its sources and consequences not just in the accounting records but also in the “real world,” and then be able to analyze the conclusions she has drawn.

Ashour has tutored accounting students, volunteered to help low-income Long Islanders prepare their taxes, and written for The Pioneer, the campus’s award-winning newspaper. “Extracurricular activities have given me a sense of being part of a community,” said Ashour. “I have been able to be of assistance to those who needed me, whether it was through action or only words – and will continue to provide my knowledge and skills for the help of others as long as I live.”

The valedictorian is selected by a committee comprised of faculty and administrators. Candidates are nominated by faculty members and judged on their G.P.A., a personal essay, recommendations and an interview with the selection committee. LIU Post, formerly known as the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, is located at 720 Northern Boulevard in Brookville.

For more information on Commencement at LIU Post, visit www.liu.edu/post/commencement.