Houston, TX (April 1, 2021) – Whitley Penn Senior Tax Manager, Kristen Sayegh, has been named as the University of Houston-Victoria’s (UHV) Young Alumna of the Year by the UHV Alumni Association. The award is presented annually to a UHV graduate who is younger than 40 and is distinctly accomplished professionally or in their service to others.
Sayegh will be honored at UHV’s Virtual Alumni Celebration live on April 9th.
Sayegh began her career at UHV as a member of the university’s softball team. For the Jaguar’s, Sayegh was a pitcher, designated player, and served as the team’s co-captain. She was a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Southwest All-Region First Team and the NAIA All-Region VI First Team. The NFCA recognized her as an All-American Scholar-Athlete for achieving a 3.5 grade-point average or better. During her senior year, Sayegh was named the AII Player of the Year, was a member of the AII All-Star Team, and was a First-Team All American.
Off the field, Sayegh was on the UHV Student Senate, serving as the undergraduate representative for the School of Business Administration and later as President. She was a member of the Gamma Beta Phi honor society and served on the President’s Climate Control Committee. She was a recipient of the President’s Student Leadership Award and was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the University of Houston’s Board of Regents. Sayegh was extremely involved in the initial exploration and implementation of UHV becoming a four-year university, by testifying in hearings with the Higher Education Committees of the Texas Senate and House of Representatives and working in UHV’s Administration and Finance Office.
Sayegh graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from University of Houston-Victoria.
After graduation, Sayegh was the recipient of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship from the Rotary Foundation and had the opportunity to spend an academic year in Hong Kong. While abroad, Sayegh gave more than 40 presentations to local Rotary clubs, and had the opportunity to travel to India to participate in Rotary’s National Immunization Day by delivering polio vaccines. Upon returning home, she joined the Rotary Club of Houston Skyline serving as the Chair of Service Projects and later as President of the Club. Sayegh assisted in sponsoring two students to serve as Global Grant Scholars in Australia and Columbia. Most recently, she received Houston Skyline’s Rotarian of the Year recognition. She is also a Paul Harris Fellow.
Sayegh has made her professional career as a Certified Public Accountant working for Whitley Penn, one of Texas’s most distinguished public accounting firms. Her tax practice is centered around working with entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and high net worth individuals focusing primarily on estate planning, financial planning, income tax planning, and professional accounting services. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA). She is also a member of the Women’s Finance Exchange (WFE) and was a member of Leadership Houston, Class of XXXII. Sayegh is involved with the firm’s recruiting efforts at several Texas universities, has assisted with WP ENGAGE (Empowering a New Generation to Advance, Grow, and Excel); FitWhit, the firm’s wellness program; and regularly gives internal and external presentations and trainings on tax law, specifically in the last year as the Paycheck Protection Program has become extremely relevant.
“It is truly an honor to be receiving the Young Alumna of the Year Award. I am humbled to be a part of an outstanding university that has helped shape my professional career by offering many leadership and involvement opportunities that I would not have otherwise been given,” stated Sayegh.
About Whitley Penn, LLP
Whitley Penn has consistently been recognized as “One the Top 100 Firms in the U.S.” and “Best of the Best” by INSIDE Public Accounting and other industry publications. For more information on Whitley Penn, please visit www.whitleypenn.com.
###
Kristen Lollar
Chief Marketing Officer
Phone: 469-776-3645
Email: kristen.lollar@whitleypenn.com