Student Spotlight | Gabriel Machen | #VUHRDStory

My #VUHRDStory started all the way back in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was studying sociology at BYU and working at a residential treatment center for teen girls. There, I became interested in the business applications of the social sciences. I knew I was ultimately more interested in this application than the mental health side. I was accepted to the Villanova HRD program and decided that moving across the country with my family was worth the program’s emphasis on human resources/business partnership and the valuable VUHRD alumni network. I began the program in the Fall of 2016.

Since starting the program I landed an internship at SAP, a premier business software company, where I work as a Human Resources Business Partner Intern. I work directly for the Global HRBP for the board-level leader of sales and the office of the CEO. My primary job is to work with our HRBP project management team to utilize and manage our human capital’s capabilities to achieve business goals. SAP is on the cutting edge of many HR topics, so it’s been great to learn about HR strategies in class and then put them into practice at work. My workforce planning class has been especially applicable to my day-to-day work, as it focuses on big-picture talent needs of businesses, and so do I.

Beyond learning about Human Resources strategies and tactics, I have also taken advantage of some of the other aspects of the Villanova HRD program. I am a part of the Mentorship Program offered to students. My mentor was a great resource while I was looking for employment and remains helpful as I try to make a good name for myself during my internship.

Being enrolled in the VUHRD program has helped me get an internship that I love, and I know my HR capabilities will only increase as I progress through the program!

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Gabriel Machen is Graduate Student in the MS in HRD program at Villanova University. He currently works at SAP. Connect with him here on LinkedIn!