Scholarship Spotlight: Frances Boudreaux, MHRIR 2015
The promise of graduation and the start of bright careers is just a few months away for our May 2015 graduating class. One year ago, they were just entering the program and nervous about their courses and recruiting prospects, and now they are learning the location of their first job and making plans to begin their lives after graduation.
Frances Boudreaux is one of those rising graduates. She elected to come to LER after finishing her undergraduate degree at LSU. A Houston native, she laughs that moving to LER in the middle of January made this one of the biggest challenges of her life. "I had internships that exposed me to the legal system and to finance, so I am able to look at my HR career from a different perspective. I felt well-prepared to take the next step with this LER degree," she says. "I chose LER over other highly-ranked Master's programs due to the resources it provides for its students, including the opportunity to network with Fortune 500 companies and the in-depth human resources education it provides."
This decision was made easier with a scholarship award sponsored by
Maxim Integrated, a technology company based in San Jose, CA. "I was really honored that a competitive company like that was willing to help me take a leap out of my comfort zone and move north for this outstanding opportunity," she says. "Their generosity played a big role in my decision and my success thus far."
"I chose to go into the field of human resources because it's part of what makes a company who it is. HR plays a vital role in creating the company culture, bringing in key talent and moving the organization forward. These are things I aim to be involved in and I couldn't be happier with my career choice." She is set to take that first step in her career with
Halliburton, where she will be working upon graduation. The oil and gas industry is an extremely interesting and exciting industry that welcomes numerous LER graduates each year, and Halliburton offers a five-stage rotational development program to develop future leaders in their organization.
"I am incredibly excited about what's to come, but my favorite thing about my time at LER has been forming lifelong bonds with my classmates and having the opportunity to network with distinguished HR professionals in a variety of industries," Frances says. "I am really going to miss my friends and my time here, but what a wonderful experience!"