No one said college would be easy, but dedication and hard work really do pay off. After taking classes, interning with OppenheimerFunds and serving as the president of the CU Denver student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), CU Denver graduate Brandon Wiegand’s hard work paid off when his internship with OppenheimerFunds ended with a job offer in the field he loves – human resources.
For Wiegand, there’s more to human resources than just handling employee concerns. “Human resources has grown into something much more strategic,” he said. “Today’s generation moves around a lot, making employee retention more important than ever.”
The success of a business today might very well depend on its ability to find and keep employees. “Our generation wants to know how the work we do fits into the bigger picture and why it matters,” he said.
Wiegand and his wife moved to Colorado after living in Indiana for a year. “We are originally from Illinois, but we wanted to start our relationship in an unfamiliar place so we’d have to lean on one another for support,” he said.
With a brother working in the same field, human resources is more like a family business to Wiegand. “My older brother is currently getting a PhD in labor and employee relations,” he said. “He’s always liked the research side, and I’ve always been drawn more toward the practitioner side. I guess I’ve been invested in the field for a long time.”
After recently graduating with a BSBA in human resources and business management through the CU Denver Business School, Wiegand has plans to innovate in the field. “I enjoy helping to increase the value of human resources across an organization,” he said.
