Every college student deserves to have a community that they can rely on and share their experiences with. However, for MHRIR students at the Carlson School, many part-time student experiences are different from their full-time peers, creating a challenge for them to find their community.
The Graduate Society of Part-Time Human Resource Students (GSPTHRS) is a student-led group of part-time students on campus who recognized these challenges and dedicated themselves to forming a supportive community.
Former GSPTHRS Board member Nancy Xue explains how belonging to this group connected her with other students. “For part-time students, with family and work priorities, it is difficult to build relationships with our peers, especially during the pandemic,” she says. “With GSPTHRS, I was able to meet so many talented individuals who are in the same boat as me. Having these supportive peers was a key for me to get through school in the pandemic.”
The need for a part-time student community was recognized before the pandemic even began. Former board member and part-time student Hillary Husband got involved in the Graduate Society of Human Resource Leaders (GSHRL), another student-led group dedicated to forming connections for students in the HRIR program. However, when Husband joined in January 2019, she was the only part-time student, which made it challenging to connect with her peers. “The full-time students already knew each other. They’re all are in the same cohort and share the same classes, so naturally, I felt [a little] like the odd one out,” she says. Xue had a similar experience: “When I first started my degree, I joined GSHRL to get to know more people. Their events are great, but it was difficult to meet people.” Recognizing their own need for a community, Xue, Husband, and Emily Sauey, another part-time MHRIR student at the time, came together to develop the core concept for GSPTHRS in the fall of 2019. Shortly after, they recruited part-time student and current board member Peter Dinh.
Dinh says that the first meeting occurred that fall, where 12 part-time students provided ideas on what the group could look like. They developed three core pillars that GSPTHRS is founded on: “1) To go beyond the classroom and provide opportunities for our peers to share their HR expertise/knowledge/experiences; 2) To connect as students and share best practices on how to navigate the complexities of balancing work, school and home demands; and 3) To provide opportunities for students to broaden their network through social activities and professional engagements (e.g. connect to other student/professional/alumni organizations).”
They presented their GSPTHRS concept to Stacy Doepner-Hove, Director of the MHRIR program, who helped them finalize the foundation of their group and become an official registered student group in spring 2020. When the pandemic hit, Stacy helped them keep their momentum, Board members say, and many faculty members have been supportive of their mission, including Professor John Kammeyer-Mueller, who’s been a strong advocate for the group.
Since then, more part-time students have served on the board of GSPTHRS including former board members Molly Nevanen, Cody Olsen, and Taylor Tarrolly, as well as current board members Addison Brothers, Gianna Castro-Torrens, and Paras Tripathy. Board members meet bi-weekly to plan beneficial events for the part-time MHRIR community. They have hosted virtual happy hours, in-person socials, guest speakers, lunch-and-learns, Q&A’s on registration and more.
“We gave a tour to incoming part-time students following their orientation at the beginning of this semester to answer any questions and help familiarize them with the resources available at Carlson,” says Tripathy. “We also had an in-person event at Boom Island Park which was really fun to be able to meet our peers for the first time!”
The group is open to all part-time MHRIR students and the Board plans events in a manner considerate of their schedules and priorities. “We understand that part-time working professional students are busy with limited availability,” says Dinh. “We try to plan our events to occur on a monthly basis and with varying hours and times to accommodate/reach all students throughout the course of a semester.”
Xue describes the community as welcoming, chill, and supportive. “Because the part-time program is not as structured as the full-time program, it is important for us to share our experiences among our peers to get the most out of this program,” she says. It provides an opportunity to get closer as friends who support one another and share similar experiences and challenges.
GSPTHRS has meant a great deal for Dinh, Husband, Tripathy, and Xue, and has made a significant impact on their journeys in the program. “From my very first event, the community has been supportive and very welcoming,” says Tripathy. “With us being part-time students, it gives us an opportunity to be a part of a team we can collaborate with and share our diverse insights (work or school related). Especially with the pandemic, the aspect of a community was very important to me and the support of my team has definitely played a huge factor.”
Husband has found a lasting impact from the group. “I can sincerely say that GSPTHRS has changed my Carlson experience and life! I’ve made lifelong friends and connections and am so grateful for everyone I’ve met in this program,” she says.
“I see GSPTHRS as my ‘North-Star’ group,” Dinh says. “As I continue on in my HRIR career, GSPTHRS is the exemplar of what a cohesive collection of professionals can achieve and need to be: ardently selfless, continually flexible, highly communicative, deeply supportive and in service of a broader community.”
Information on GSPTHRS’ next events can be found on the Part-Time HRIR Student Canvas page. For those interested in joining the Board, email Paras Tripathy (tripa042@umn.edu) or Peter Dinh (dinh0045@umn.edu).
Center for Human Resources & Labor Studies 