B.B.A.'06, The HR Point of View
Emily Chalifoux has the knowledgeable, big-picture, engaged point of view that should be the hallmark of every human resources professional. After graduating from WMU, she attended the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chalifoux received a corporate fellowship from Shell Oil Company, completed an internship with Merck, and then accepted a position with Microsoft as part of the HR Trax accelerated development program.
She notes that her Haworth experience, including a valuable internship at Kellogg’s, made her credible in her current position, “My experience at HCOB gave me a frame of reference that has been extremely valuable to my career. Very few HR people have a solid foundation in and understanding of business. The fact that I gained this knowledge at the college of business has made me more credible at work. It’s so critical that HR professionals be able to speak and understand the language of business in order to be strategic partners with our clients; thanks to the college of business, I am able to do this.”
Chalifoux is grateful for the support of many of her professors, and though she says that it would be impossible to pick a favorite professor, she notes the influence of Drs. Deshpande, Muse, and Palthe as mentors. In addition, she credits Dr. Farrell with changing her life when he encouraged her to apply for graduate school, “Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” In fact, it was at the HR games, where Farrell was facility coach, that the idea of graduate study in HR became a tangible possibility for her. Farrell continues to mentor her to this day.
Whether traveling with a client to Shanghai or talking through an issue with her manager, Chalifoux, with her firm foundation in business and solid judgment, is a touchstone for clients and colleagues alike.
Her support of the Haworth College of Business has been unwavering. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to support HCOB financially since graduation and working for a company that matches gifts dollar for dollar is a huge benefit! I’ve also gotten to help support several students as they made the difficult decision on whether or not to attend grad school, and if so, which one,” she says. She encourages young alumni to look into matching gift programs to increase their support of the college of business and to consider giving back as a mentor to people looking to strike out into a “real” world that is rife with challenges but also full of opportunity.
In the next five to 10 years, Chalifoux sees herself as a director at Microsoft, managing a team of HR generalists. Our prediction: achieving this goal will come sooner, rather than later for this HR pro!