Indira Karimova, a student pursuing her master's degree at the University of Texas at Tyler in hopes of earning her CPA, received Beta Alpha Psi's Medal of Inspiration Award.
The award, which includes a $5,000 stipend and is sponsored by the AICPA, recognizes a Beta Alpha Psi student member who has experienced extreme hardships and demonstrated an unusually high level of success despite that adversity.
Karimova was born in Kyrgyzstan and dreamed of going to America to study. Instead, she was arranged to marry her second cousin when she was 19. Shortly after her wedding and while pregnant with her first child, Karimova and her husband came to the United States, but he did not support her educational goals.
Despite that lack of support, Karimova learned English, obtained her GED, and eventually left her husband. While raising two daughters as a single mother, she graduated magna cum laude from Tyler Junior College and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas.
As an undergraduate, she was on the Dean's list, was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and received several scholarships.
