Kristy Amaro, M.S.
People Development Specialist                  
Mercantil Commercebank

(Please note, the Master’s in Human Resource Development and Administration has been recently renamed to Master’s in Organizational Learning and Leadership.)

I will never forget my first day of class as a student in the Master of Human Resource Development and Administration program at Barry University. The name of the course was HRDA Theory and Practice.  After four hours of hearing about performance and KSA's, I left class with feelings of doubt and insecurity, and a fear that I would not be able to make it through the first course.   When I began the program in 2004 I was a kindergarten teacher.  I was not happy in my current position and I was looking to make a career change.

After doing some research in possible career opportunities, I found the HRDA master's program at Barry University.  I quickly came to realize that this would be a great place for me to start preparing for my new career.  I made my first appointment with Dr. Kopp, Chair for Human Resource Development Programs. After meeting with him, I knew that I had made the right decision for the school and the program.  I left the initial meeting with a feeling of confidence that the HRDA master's program was going to help me make the change that I had been hoping for; knowing that the road ahead would not be easy,

I began the journey into the world of HRD. Needless to say, I made it through the HRDA theory and practice course and ran full speed ahead into the rest of the courses, knocking each course out of the ball park one course at a time.  Before I knew it, a year had gone by.  I was now equipped with knowledge on adult learning and motivation, instructional design and presentation principles.  I decided to test the waters and began sending out my resume.  Lo and behold the first company that I sent my resume to made me an offer. The position was Training Manager at The Setai hotel. In this role, I had an opportunity to use many of the skills I had learned through the HRDA master's program, and since I was still attending class, I was constantly learning and applying cutting edge techniques while on the job.

I continued my classes over the winter of 2005 and with the guidance of my Barry professors and the confidence gained each time I completed a new class, I decided to begin a new job hunt. This time I was looking into positions in the banking industry. After two months of searching, I found a job as a People Development Specialist at Mercantil Commercebank. In this role I have applied knowledge from my entire program at Barry, specifically in organizational change, organizational development, and instructional design.

Today, I have been in the HRD industry for three years and an alumni of Barry since May 2006. I look forward to the many career opportunities that lie ahead. The HRD industry is constantly changing and growing, but with the strong foundation given to me through the HRDA master's program at Barry University, I feel prepared to succeed in any organization I choose.