Students interested in human resources now have a new opportunity to connect with the profession right here on campus.

The Society of Human Resource Management just formed as an official student organization on Simpson campus this spring. The organization is partnered with the DMACC student chapter of SHRM as well as the Central Iowa professional chapter.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 300,000 members in more than 165 countries. Their mission is to empower people and workplaces by advancing HR practices and by maximizing human potential according to their organization’s national website.

Austin Greenwalt, the secretary of the Simpson SHRM chapter, explains that while SHRM is designed for those interested in human resources, a student doesn’t have to be in HR to join the chapter.

“SHRM is most applicable for students who are planning to go into the human resource industry when they are older, but this is not by any means a requirement,” Greenwalt said. “There are skills that are beneficial for anyone planning on working in the professional world because every company has a human resources department that is in charge of things like employee benefits, payroll, employment handbook, and more.”

The Simpson student chapter partners with the Central Iowa professional chapter of SHRM in Des Moines. Central Iowa SHRM holds monthly meetings as well as various seminars and conferences. With Des Moines being so close, Simpson students have a unique opportunity to be connected with these professionals in the field.

According to Greenwalt, that is the mission of starting the group here at Simpson:

“We decided to make a chapter here at Simpson so that we could get our students connected to the HR professionals in the community, and so that we could learn more of the industry we are looking to go into after college,” Greenwalt said.

Simpson SHRM will be planning another meeting in the month of March, students who are interested should contact Annyka Morris.

To learn more about SHRM visit: https://www.shrm.org/