Meet our #VillanovaHRD Student Leaders | #VUHRDStory
Every year the #VillanovaHRD program has several current students who support the program by providing student-focused advice to our current and prospective students in addition to giving feedback and research support to our administrators and faculty. These students make up both our Online Student Advisory Council and our Campus Graduate Assistants. They come from different backgrounds, different industries, and have different career aspirations. However, they all share the common goal of creating more effective and inclusive organizations which is why they joined Villanova HRD. Here are the stories and backgrounds of the current 11 students serving in these two groups.
First, meet our Online Student Advisory Council: Alec, Brendon, Justin, Nicole, and Emily, and Lauren. Here are their VUHRD Stories, #VUHRDStory!
ALEC TARE
Hi everyone! My name is Alec Tare. I am from Plainview, New York in Long Island. I currently
hold a Bachelor’s degree in history and business studies from SUNY Geneseo which I received in 2014. After receiving my bachelors, I began working for Harold Levinson Associates (HLA) a division of National Convenience Distributors (NCD). I currently work in the operations department of their distribution center in Farmingdale, NY. I have been with the company for 10 years, 6 of which were in a full-time role. I have held several roles in the company including Warehouse Associate, Inventory Control Analyst, Rotating Department Manager, and currently Senior Operations Manager. NCD is the 5th largest full line wholesale convenience store distributor in the U.S., delivering a variety of grocery, candy, and tobacco products to convenience stores throughout the northeast. Although I do not currently have a role in the HR department, I work with HR every day. We work on cross functional policies and strategies to lead our distribution center’s 240 warehouse associates and 25 operations managers. Ultimately, operations management is about people and my goal for this program is to take what I learn and bring back valuable strategies and new ideas to NCD operations management. I want to prepare us for the future as we continue to grow. Eventually I would like to combine my knowledge of supply chain, warehouse operations, and transportation with my HR degree to transfer into an HR leadership role. The Villanova HRD program has been extremely helpful in working towards this goal.
BRENDON HART
Greetings! My name is Brendon Hart and I’m originally from Salem, Ohio. I’m an active duty Navy Counselor with nearly a decade of military HR experience. Currently, I’m stationed in sunny San Diego as an instructor for the Navy’s command career counselor course. I’ve been married for 13 years and have a 2-year-old son who keeps us on our toes. I received a B.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University and a B.G.S from Youngstown State University. As a career counselor, I’m responsible for organizing and implementing enlisted career information programs. I counsel personnel on all facets of career planning and development, including assignments, advancement, and retirement benefits.
Additionally, I track and report key retention statistics to commanding officers and executives. I truly enjoy my job and feel honored to have the opportunity to pass my experience along as an instructor. In my spare time, I enjoy being with family, barbecuing, and hiking. I also love to travel and experience different cultures. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit 13 countries and always look forward to seeing more of the world.
JUSTIN JAMES LOPEZ
I was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Camden, New Jersey. I went to Villanova as an undergraduate and am back as a graduate student! I am on the Organizational development track but am also taking the coursework for the Inclusion and Diversity certificate. After graduation, I plan to work through a Doctorate in Educational Science, Learning, and Organizational Change. Ultimately, I would like to focus my work more on how humans learn and can develop professionally to up-level themselves and their organizations. I am currently a market intelligence partner for Amazon's executive design organization. My core focus is developing high-level insights and strategies to target executive talent for design opportunities across the broader Amazon ecosystem. I work with recruiters to bridge the gap between executive leaders and external executive talent needs. Outside of school and work, I am a full-time father to a wonderful 3-year-old boy. I have a YouTube channel focused on how we can develop a growth mindset. I also have a podcast series launching in the fall titled 'Why are we like this?' that explores why we, as humans, do the things that we do and aims to ask tough questions about our human condition that many of us choose not to address.
NICOLE STINES
Hello all! My name is Nicole Stines and I'm currently located in sunny San Diego, CA! After being in Columbus, OH for 15 years and graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in Strategic Communications, I was given the opportunity to relocate with my first job out of school to San Diego. I've been here since 2018 and have loved every second of it! I now work as a People Operations Specialist at an amazing start-up SaaS company in San Diego called GoSite. The tech space has quickly stolen my heart and I'm hoping to focus on SaaS for the majority of my career in HR moving forward. My passion for HR truly started with my job straight out of undergrad as an HR Coordinator and I never expected to find my calling so quickly right out of school. I aspire to reach the executive level at some point in my career either as a CHRO or COO, and the skills and networking I've been exposed to in this program have made me confident that I can reach that goal!
EMILY VALENCIA
Hi everyone! My name is Emily Valencia and I am an active duty Human Resources Officer in the United States Army. I am originally from a small town named Hebron in Connecticut where my family still resides. I graduated with honors from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering in 2016. Since then I have served over three years in three different positions in 4th Infantry Division while stationed out of Fort Carson, Colorado. I currently live with my loving husband, Raoul, and our baby pet conure, Cocoa. I am so excited to continue this rewarding program with all of you! Go Nova!
LAUREN GONZALEZ (LO)
Hi everyone! I'm Lo and I am born and raised in Dallas, TX. I received my B.S. in Psychology and Philosophy from Southern Methodist University. I am currently a Senior HR Generalist at the Dallas/Plano Marriott with 3 years of experience in the Human Resources field. I love the flexibility Villanova's HRD program offers me, but the biggest gain has been the relationships I have developed with my classmates. I am grateful to be a part of such an amazing program. Go Wildcats!
Next, meet our campus Graduate Assistants: Simon, Ben, Caleb, Kelly, and Jennie. Here are their VUHRD Stories, #VUHRDStory!
SIMON SONG
Hello! My name is Simon Song and I am one of the graduate assistants for the HRD program. I am from Norwood, NJ which is right outside of the NYC area. I graduated from Villanova with a B.A. in Psychology this past May. I first became interested in the HRD program after taking I/O Psychology my junior year. From this course, I discovered how psychological principles could be applied to organizations and the different ways in which strategic HR positively impacts organizations. This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a Human Resources intern for AIG and this experience substantiated my interest in the HR career field. In my free time, I enjoy playing sports like basketball, tennis, and golf!
JEDIDIAH BENHUR MARGOSCHIS (BEN)
My name is Jedidiah Benhur Margoschis. I am originally from India. I have lived and worked in two countries. I am currently a graduate assistant at Villanova's HRD office. I worked for seven years in various capacities in the training sector. I have a superpower: I write. I am loving the United States.
CALEB GRAVOT
Hello, everyone I am Caleb. Originally from Fairview Heights, IL, this is my first year as a Graduate Assistant. I graduated from Evangel University in December 2019 where I majored in Psychology. During my time at Evangel University, I was first exposed to the world of Human Resources Development when one of our alumni talked to us about I/O Psychology. After hearing her talk, I knew that was the career path that I wanted to follow. To work in an environment where I can bring the best out of people is what drives me and brings out my passion. When applying for Graduate school, Villanova was not on my register until I received information about the program in the mail. The rest is history. I am excited to start my journey here at Villanova continuing to learn and grow during my time here.
KELLY MAGUIRE
I am originally from outside of Boston, MA. I am a 2018 Villanova grad, where I studied Psychology and Communications. I am thrilled to be back on campus as a Graduate Assistant and student in the HRD program! My interest in HR developed after completing an internship where I gained experience in talent acquisition, training and development, and onboarding practices. I really enjoyed the people-facing aspect of the work and found it to be extremely rewarding and energizing. I am looking forward to developing a well-rounded understanding of the HR field, and am also excited to assist with HR-related research as a GA. I am hoping to learn and experience as much as I can in these next two years with HRD!
JENNIE KILLEBREW
Hi! I am originally from Birmingham, AL where I graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2017 with a B.S. in Psychology. I lived in Atlanta, GA for two years post-undergrad and worked in multiple sectors including sales, accounting, and hospitality. I kept drifting towards the HR professionals at these organizations and finally decided to join the field after learning about the rewards/challenges of HR. I wanted to pursue a Master's in the HRD program to jumpstart my career and fully immerse myself in the field. I love living in Philadelphia and being able to experience a new part of the country with my fiancé and my dog.
Thank you to these students for their service to the Villanova HRD program!
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