This week's student spotlight is Rylie Sant! Rylie is a current second-year student in the IOHRM program, and she has a ton of valuable insight to share with you all. She is currently one of Dr. Timothy Ludwig’s Intro to Psychology teaching assistants, as well as the current Assistant Director of HR Science which is a student and faculty lead organization that conducts research in the areas of DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), EBP (Evidence-Based Practices), and Safety. Today we are going to go into advice Rylie has for
future students and first-year students, her internship experience this past summer, why Rylie chose App State, and more!
What drew Rylie to the IOHRM program & what made it her final decision:
“I had the pleasure of working with Matt Laske (now PhD, congrats Matt!!!) at my undergraduate university (University of Kansas) and he was the one who introduced me to the
IOHRM program. I love that this program combines I/O and HR because I love HR, so I was super interested when I saw that this program combines the two. I also really love the high faculty-to-student ratio and find interacting with all our different faculty enriching!”
A little bit about Rylie’s internship last summer:
“I interned with Corning Incorporated at two of their fiber cable manufacturing plants in Hickory, NC. My experience was super enriching but challenging. I entered my role during a
period of great change for the industry I was working in and got to experience firsthand downsizing and layoffs in a manufacturing setting. I learned a lot about myself in that time and am very grateful for that experience no matter how impossible it seemed at the time. I know that experience will stick with me as I grow in my career.”
Rylie’s current plans for after graduation:
“I am currently not actively looking for a job since I will not be done with school until August. However, I plan to kick off the job search after Comps in March and hopefully have a job within 6 months of graduating!”
Rylie’s favorite thing about the program throughout the last two years:
“The people! I definitely feel like I have found my community in the IOHRM program and my cohort. I enjoy the time I get to spend with everyone during class but especially all of the fun activities and trips we take outside of school. Lots of memories have been made in these last two years.”
Advice for prospective students & current first-year students:
“Grad school is stressful!! There will be days that you question why they chose you for this program, but know that you are here for a reason and everyone around you knows how valuable you are even when it feels like you are coming up short of where you think you should be. Grad school is such an amazing period in your life where you will experience so much personal growth and change, so try your best to be present in those moments where it seems like you might be eaten alive by all the work that needs to be done. Being on the other side and getting to reflect on who I was when I entered the program vs. who I am now as I am about to graduate from the program is something I will always cherish because I know that I am capable of great things due to how I was pushed and challenged in this program.”
