More than 20 students in the human resource development (HRD) undergraduate major recently completed their internships, gaining real-world perspectives and learning more about the opportunities that await after graduation. The HRD program, administered by Purdue Polytechnic’s Department of Technology Leadership & Innovation, requires that students complete a minimum of 500 hours of work experiences related to human resources.
“The internship requirement of our HRD program provides unique work experiences and professional development opportunities to our students while preparing them for their careers,” said Mesut Akdere, associate professor of human resource development and director of Purdue HRD Virtual Lab and the founding faculty of the major. “Students often receive an invitation to join the company as full-time human resources professionals upon graduation.”
Andres Santiago
Andres Santiago
“Besides learning how to use some of the cutting-edge training tools and biometrics for research, I published my work in the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research,” said Santiago. “This internship has shown me how technology is rapidly changing the human resources function in the organization.”
Mary Hamilton
Mary Hamilton
“It was an amazing experience and demonstrated that Purdue has prepared me to work in a high-demand field,” Hamilton said.
Elijah Hegg
Elijah Hegg
“Before this internship, I had no idea what part of HR I wanted to go into after graduation. I discovered that I want to pursue a generalist or recruiter route in my career,” said Hegg.
Emily DeVaney
Emily DeVaney
“One of my favorite projects was identifying gaps in the standard recruitment and proposing a method to gain a more diverse candidate pool,” said DeVaney. “From here, I see myself continuing on this path and pursuing an HR-related role within a Fortune 500 company.”
Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas
“I enjoyed the opportunity to use my academic learning in a real work environment, “said Thomas. “The internship experience overall has given me some insights into my future career path.”
Learn more about the HRD program online at polytechnic.purdue.edu/degrees/human-resource-development.