MEET A BAHRA RISING PROFESSIONAL – MEGHAN BARRY!!
Meghan’s Story
Meet BAHRA Board Secretary and Rising HR Professional Meghan Barry! Like many of us, Meghan’s college studies didn’t point her in the direction of a career in HR. Meghan earned a BS in horticulture with an emphasis in floraculture, so after college she moved to Hawaii and worked on a hydroponic tomato farm. What better place than the Aloha State, where everything grows, for someone with this educational background! After a couple of years Meghan realized that this work wasn’t her ultimate calling, so eventually she moved back to Colorado.
At that time, she felt called to teaching and earned a Masters degree in elementary education. After four years as a teacher she started to feel a little burn out, but stuck with it and landed a position at a new school. She hoped this new environment and position would be invigorating, but unfortunately her employment contract was not renewed due to funding cuts. At first she was devastated but then, being a “glass half full person”, she realized that she had quite possibly dodged a bullet by having a reason to leave that career path.
At that point Meghan thought “What am I going to do now?”. Being a self-starter who knows how to identify and access resources, Meghan got involved with Workforce Boulder County’s Career Services. She took workshops and self directed labs to guide her job search and sharpen her skills. She applied for a paid internship through their WIOA program (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act). She also worked with career advisor Jane McKean who assessed her interests and skills. The results directed her to the field of HR. Jane suggested that Meghan attend a Boulder Area HR Association (BAHRA) event. Meghan was new to “networking” and just the thought of doing it was nerve wracking and terrifying – but she did it!
Meghan’s very first BAHRA event was a Rising Professional meet-up at Galvanize in Boulder in fall 2017. Right away she met and connected with BAHRA board members Teri DePuy and Kelly Marinelli who made an effort to follow up and met Meghan for coffee. At the same event she connected with Christine Fitzgerald, Human Resources Manager for The Stepping Stones Group. Fortunately, through the WIOA program, Meghan was able to offer her services for HR internship paid for by Workforce Boulder County. The position met the requirements for the internship and it didn’t cost The Stepping Stones Group a dime to bring her on board! This internship ended up being a great first HR experience for Meghan.
Fast forward 3 months and Meghan attended her next BAHRA Rising Professionals event. With her internship drawing to a close, she announced to the group that she was looking for a full-time HR position. Dawn Scriber and Deidra Mogan, the HR team from KPA had in fact come to the event that night with the specific purpose of looking for a new HR coordinator at their company! The event was on a Thursday, Meghan interviewed with KPA on Friday and by Tuesday she had her first full-time HR position!
Meghan says that this experience “totally changed” her life. Through KPA she’s received tremendous exposure to all areas of the HR profession, she been able to travel for work and she’s helped to bring on over 100 new employees! She’s applied for a SHRM Certification scholarship that would cover the cost of the preparation materials and the exam, to the tune of $750.
Her experience at KPA has put her in the frying pan AND the fire, in a good way! She’s had to take the reins of the department on several occasions, first when a team member left the company and again when another had to take early maternity leave. It’s been a lot of exposure FAST, and she’s been exposed to virtually every facet of HR. KPA’s HR team is now operating at full strength, so she works with great colleagues. The company is very supportive of Meghan attending conferences and having continuing education opportunities.
What’s Next? In addition to her position as HR Coordinator at KPA, Meghan is secretary for the BAHRA board and Chairperson of BAHRA’s Rising Professionals group! With her leadership BAHRA’s Rising Pros will have three fun and informative events in 2019, including one event teaming up with the College Relations committee and CU’s Leeds School of Business. Stay tuned, be sure to put those events on your calendar and remember that ALL levels of HR professionals are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Information on Workforce Boulder County (WfBC) If you’ve been involuntarily terminated from your position you are eligible for unemployment compensation in Colorado, and for services through Workforce Boulder County. They offer a variety of career services including a Job Search Safari, assistance with resume writing and LinkedIn profiles, special services for veterans and young adults, and many others. Meghan highly recommends these resources for anyone that may need some direction, wants to feel a sense of purpose and have some tasks to focus on, and would like to have a solid resource to rely on. There are so many opportunities available for people who are willing to do the work!
WfBC has a tuition reimbursement program (which at the time of Meghan’s search did not have HR specific opportunities but is otherwise fantastic!) as well as their WIOA paid internship program (which also had no pre-established HR positions, but allows the flexibility for applicants to seek their own internships like Meghan did!). The program’s purpose is to place people in new professional fields and get them some training. Applicants who are accepted into WfBC’s WIOA paid internship program are employees of and paid by Boulder County which is a huge incentive for any companies to participate! The WIOA program provides a huge amount of support to participants and Meghan stated that it was “invaluable for getting in the door” of her new career in HR.
For more information on WfBC programs and services, including the internship program, go to https://www.bouldercounty.org/departments/community-services/workforce-boulder-county/job-seekers/ . To take advantage of WfBC’s services you must register at www.connectingcolorado.com. Be aware that it takes 30-60 minutes to create your account and complete your registration.
The SHRM Foundation will award FIVE scholarships to SHRM members interested in attending the 
Board Member Spotlight: Meet Debi Chernak - Co-Director, Sponsorship
Are you ready to grow professionally in 2019?
The Colorado Society for Human Resource Management (COSHRM) biennial conference attracts more than 500 people from Colorado and beyond to participate in a three-day conference that includes incredible keynote speakers, interactive sessions and practical workshops.
