For the second year in a row, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) awarded BYU’s SHRM chapter with the Student Chapter Merit Award, signifying the chapter’s excellence and achievements during the 2018–19 academic year.
The Student Chapter Merit Award goes to chapters with high engagement, structured and effective operations/leadership, and quality professional development of members. BYU SHRM proved worthy of the award by providing its members with unique learning opportunities, including learning about management systems, mentoring programs, bimonthly events, and cultivating personal relationships with companies. “The BYU SHRM chapter is a great way to come and get a sense for what human resources really looks like,” says Cody Reeves, BYU Marriott associate professor of HR.
The BYU SHRM chapter welcomes all students that have a genuine interest in human resource management and strives to add value to their career preparation. “SHRM is an incredible resource for our students because it allows them to deeply engage with the HR profession and HR professionals while they are still students, and it gives them added real-world preparation as they enter the workforce,” says Ben Galvin, BYU Marriott associate professor of OBHR and SHRM advisor.
Rachel Hair, a senior studying human resources at BYU Marriott and the chapter’s president, says the award gives the 150 members reason to celebrate. “The award validates that we have built a great program that is competitive with other universities. This translates to the overall competitiveness of the students in our program as they prepare to go forth.”
The hard work of members and former leaders has helped the chapter reach national prominence. “Our previous presidents were revolutionary to the chapter’s structure and vision,” says Hair, a native of South Jordan, Utah. “They did truly incredible things to grow the group into the nationally recognized chapter it is today.”
Galvin is impressed by the dedication of the student members as they give their time and efforts to the chapter. “We are one of the best in the nation not only because of strong faculty support but also because we have extreme student commitment,” he says. “The student leadership almost treats their role in the group like a full-time job, and everything they do is amazing.”
As the new year starts and new members join, Galvin believes the future is bright for BYU’s SHRM chapter because of what past and current students have done to make the chapter what it is. “This award from SHRM represents the maturity of the chapter here at BYU,” says Galvin. “The students have created something substantial and strong that will have lasting effects for the chapter’s future members."
To learn more about BYU's SHRM chapter, click here.
_
Writer: Camden Carter