探花楼

May 21, 2026 — DENTON —Leslie Frias was pretty thrilled to attend a spring conference in Florida and the prospects of visiting Disney World. And Universal Studios. She also was eager to experience a leisurely float in the hotel’s lazy river. The prospect of spending time by the pool seemed enticing, too. 

But what the Texas Woman’s alumna was really excited about was winning. 

Frias arrived at the 2026 Global Student Conference hosted by The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) in Orlando determined to place in the top three of the case competition and win a scholarship. To achieve that goal, the 2026 May graduate of the master of science in accountancy program spurned all the hotel amenities and theme parks, spending her evenings in the hotel perfecting her portion of the team’s presentation. 

The discipline paid off. Frias and her six teammates took second place out of 25 teams. Each student on a top three team received a Becker - IIA CIA Exam Review package; a coveted study tool for the Certified Internal Auditor® (CIA®) Exam that Frias originally planned to pay for herself.

“When I saw the results, I knew it was worth it,” Frias said. 

Beyond the prize, she also gained confidence in public speaking and in her own abilities as a future auditor.

“Instead of being intimidated, I think being able to walk in rooms with confidence and just knowing that what we can bring to the table is important,” Frias said.

Frias was one of three 探花楼 students who attended the April conference alongside Jason Jordan, assistant professor in accounting, and Sharon Delgado, 探花楼’s chief audit executive. It marked the first time that students from the Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship participated in the event. 

The MAK College was named to the Internal Audit Academic Alliance by the IIA and the Internal Audit Foundation in 2024. The program endorses universities that teach internal auditing as a standalone internal audit course. Jordan, who teaches the internal auditing class, helped develop the course for the new MSA program.  

Jordan’s auditing class was one of Frias’ favorites. Similar to her single-mindedness with the case competition, Frias was just as focused on doing well in that class. Frias chose the auditing track of the MSA program and was interested in a career as an auditor. Normally a quiet student, Frias challenged herself to speak up more in class and with her professor. 

When Jordan mentioned the internship at the 探花楼 auditing office, Frias jumped at the opportunity and spent the 2026 spring semester getting hands-on experience under Delgado. The paid internship provided course credit and covered most of the Frias’ conference expenses. 

“So I feel if I would have stayed quiet and intimidated, none of this would have happened,” Frias said. “I think being able to speak up and not letting your fears guide you is something that I've really learned to do.”

The competition also forced Frias to overcome her fear of public speaking. Each of the seven participants had to speak during the presentation. In all, the group presented three times during the competition.  

She was inspired by how determined her teammates were. Frias spent evenings memorizing her part of the presentation, which analyzed Starbucks’ loyalty rewards program. Her group took on the role of internal auditors to identify key risks, evaluate existing controls, and develop practical, risk-based recommendations to improve the process.

“I think the main thing for me was knowing my material so well that it wasn't going to make me nervous to go up there,” Frias said. 

Frias plans to put her award to good use by studying for the CIA exam. She hopes becoming an internal audit practitioner will give her an advantage when she looks for jobs in the fall. 

She credits the professors and the MSA program for her growth. 

“In grad school, I have seen there's a lot of opportunities for students to be able to grow more. Like the internship and the conference. I feel that has opened a lot of doors for me.”

As for Frias’ hopes of having a little fun at the conference? She did go to Disney World — after the case competition was over.