Zonta Club of the Santa Clarita Valley has awarded its Jane M. Klausman Woman in Business scholarship to Jalence Isles, a senior at the University of Southern California double-majoring in accounting and business administration.

The $1,000 award is given each year to a continuing college student whose goals coincide with Zonta's mission to improve the status of women.

The local winner is then forwarded to Zonta District 9 for competition at the district level and possible advance to the Zonta international level, which offers six $5,000 awards.

Klausman scholarship winners are young women already attending college with an eye toward a future in the business world. Isles, a New Orleans native, will return to USC as a fifth-year senior during 2008-09 and will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in May 2009.

She will begin working on a master's degree in accounting prior to completing undergraduate studies and will complete her master'sdegree in December 2009. While striving for excellence in academia, Isles remains an active and visible part of campus.

She is the incumbent president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants and assistant director of USC's Black Student Assembly. She is also a senior member of the USC Accounting Society.

This summer, she is working as a summer analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York. In her spare time, she particularly enjoys giving back to the community, cooking for friends and traveling abroad.

This year's Jane M. Klausman Committee chair was Barbara Stearns-Cochran. Committee members included Alicia Estrada, Diane Goddard, Cheryl Gray, Cindy Kittle and Chris Miller.

Isles attended a recent Zonta Club business meeting to accept her award.