Spring Break
Business students advance in HR competition
'It's great to network with HR students ...'
John Kim
Daily Staff Writer
- Page 1 of 1
The event will be held in Portland, Ore., on April 2 and 3, and the winning teams will go on to the national competition.
The SJSU team advanced to the regional round by coming in first place in the first round, a competition among CSU schools. Eight schools entered that competition, which was held in Pomona on Feb. 28: SJSU, Fresno State, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Chico and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
According to Veronika Morley, the president of the Human Resources Management Association and a member of the winning team, it is the first time SJSU has won the first round of the competition in five years.
Morley, a business administration major, said the team had been practicing on weekends since September.
"We had four students competing, but we had six coaches," she said. "We were very lucky."
Nancy Heckman, who serves as a coach as well as the faculty adviser to the Human Resources Management Association, praised the team for their devotion.
"It is a lot of work," Heckman said. "They're all in school, and three of the four work. Some have family. It's time consuming."
Morley said the competition at Pomona was fierce, but a collegial atmosphere prevailed.
"This year, one of the teams was giving out candy to the other teams before the competition," Morley said. "It's supposed to be fun, and it's great to network with HR students from other schools."
Fifteen teams participated in the competition at Pomona, each school but one fielding two teams. The two SJSU teams differed from the others because the teams had two members instead of three.
"I heard people talking in the hallway about 'Oh, they only have two people on their team,' and they end up winning," said Stephanie Munson, a business administration major who competed on the losing SJSU team.
Morley said teams enter the competition because it is good training for the Professional in Human Resources certification.
"The competition covers the material on the (Professional in Human Resources) exam. That's the main reason why people do it," she said. "They have to study for the (exam) anyway, and this is the most fun way to do it."
Heckman said that a Professional in Human Resources certification isn't necessary in the field, but it is becoming increasingly popular.
"More and more people are doing it," she said. "It just gives you an edge, which is important in the kind of job market we're in."
The team heading to Portland will consist of Veronika Morley, Tania Garcia and Sarah Shaffer.
While the team will be paying their own expenses, Morley said they will be helped by a $1,000 grant from the College of Business Association, as well as donations.
"The coaches, not only did they give a lot of their time, but the travel expenses, they were donated out of pocket by the coaches," she said. "We couldn't win without them."
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