how it started
Originally created for the Social Changemaker Project, the University of Northern Iowa's Society for Human Resource Management (UNI-SHRM) student organization decided to research the new U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that federal civil rights law prohibits employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We wanted to take a deeper look into how this has impacted training and inclusivity on university campuses and the workplace. The main focus is to create unity and transparency in both.
As four officers of UNI-SHRM, Aleah, Kaylee, Skylar, and Claudia began by creating a survey to get a baseline of the level of understanding or training, that students and employees have been given on this new ruling. After marketing our survey through social media, we reached hundreds of people in the Cedar Valley and beyond.
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Shockingly, we found that 0% of those in the LGBTQ community had been made aware of this new ruling by their university or employer. Following that, 35% of those not in the LGBTQ community discovered these rights on their own, and 36% said that they had not been made aware and feel as though they should have been made aware by their employer or university.
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Obviously, these results proved what we thought: people are simply not educated about this new ruling. Hence, our podcast began!
o u r t e a m
Aleah Vaske, one of our co-hosts, is a junior double majoring in Business Management: Human Resource and Marketing: Digital Media and Advertising as well as obtaining an Industrial-Organizational Psychology Certificate. She currently works for Jobs for America's Graduates as a marketing consultant.
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Aleah has always had a passion for people and their talents; this is what led her to Human Resources. As a gen Zer, she has grown up noticing so much change in our world and wants to be a part of improving it by refining practices within the HR field to cultivate a workforce that positively contributes to society.
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Aleah can be reached at aleahvaske@gmail.com or on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/aleahvaske/.
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Skylar Rueter, our marketing director, is a junior double majoring in Business Management: Human Resource and Marketing: Digital Media and Advertising.
Skylar's passion for HR stems from her desire to help people. She has always been passionate about equal rights and inclusion for all. She wants to bring awareness to those who are not involved in the LGBTQ+ community and erase the stigma that surrounds them.
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Skylar can be reached at skylarrueter@gmail.com or on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/skylarerueter/.
Claudia Mathis, our networking guru, is a senior majoring in Business Management: Human Resource and has obtained an Industrial-Organizational Psychology Certificate.
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Claudia is interested in Human Resources because of its variety of focus areas and the ability to meeting and working with new people. Her goal is to create an impact and influence others by responding well to day-to-day activities in her future organization. Because there are many rewarding benefits to being an HR professional, she is excited to see where this journey takes her!
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Claudia can be reached on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-mathis-51420817b/.
Kaylee Wurth, our second co-host, is a junior majoring in Business Management: Human Resource and obtaining an Industrial-Organizational Psychology Certificate. She currently works at Fusion Medical Staffing as an administrative assistant.
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Kaylee's passion for HR, and creating a better community and work environment, started when she first began working as an intern at Fusion Medical Staffing in Omaha, Nebraska. Their level of inclusion, company culture, and desire to better the community inspired her to start creating change.
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Kaylee can be reached at wurthkaylee@gmail.com or on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-w-797284127/.
