Picture of Lucy Bruns '22An interest in industrial-organizational psychology has led upcoming graduate Lucy Bruns ’22 into being accepted into the University of South Carolina, Master of Human Resources (MHR) program at the Darla Moore School of Business. From Beaufort, South Carolina, she is pursuing a major in psychology with a minor in marketing and business at Holy Cross College.

“The MHR program starts in August 2022 and ends in December 2023. It is split into 3 trimesters – 2 trimesters of classes and 1 trimester of an internship with a Fortune 500 company that is guaranteed,” said Bruns. “I decided to apply because I found that the University of South Carolina had the best MHR program than any other university that I looked at. The professors that teach at the business school are fantastic and very well accomplished, the median salary for graduates is excellent, and the campus is only 2 hours away from my home in Beaufort! At the end of the program, I hope to work for the company that I intern for when I am in graduate school, ideally, that would be a b-corporation (a company that voluntarily meets the highest standards for social and environmental performance) called, Aerofarms.”

Field of interest

“When I was in high school in a psychology class, one of the chapters was on ‘careers in psychology’ and the one that interested me the most was a career in industrial-organizational psychology, which is essentially part of human resources,” notes Bruns. “Also, my uncle Rich is a human resource professional for a major barge line, and he was always someone that I looked up to growing up and even now, especially as I try to navigate my life after undergrad.”

Campus involvement

“I have been the women’s varsity tennis captain for 4 years,” said Bruns. “It has been great to be a part of a team with such loving and talented girls that I can call my friends.”

Being prepared

“​Holy Cross College prepared me for this next stage by giving me the opportunity to meet some amazing people. Firstly, Professor Thorpe Gordon, Dr. Barlas, Dr. Lutz, and Dr. Fox all impacted me in so many ways. Professor Thorpe Gordon ignited my passion for human resources through her human resources course, Dr. Barlas introduced the importance of b-corporations in her Christ, Church, and economics course, Dr. Lutz inspired me to be a leader in corporate social responsibility in his common good and corporate social responsibility course, and Dr. Fox’s course, statistics for social sciences, allowed me to recognize my love for data analytics and human resources information system,” notes Bruns. “Secondly, the friends that I met my freshmen year and still can call my best friends today prepared me for this next step in life. Surrounding yourself around people that are as driven as Camden, Jane, and Stephen will ultimately leave you no choice but to be driven as well.”

Impactful moment

“I do not have an exact time and place, but it was the moment when I realized that education and learning were great privileges. I was always the type of person to not like homework or sit in class, but around my sophomore year, I began to develop a very strong appreciation for education and learning,” recalls Bruns.

Future plans

“One thing I’ve learned is that there is no point in planning for things that are not in your control, but there are still a few simple things that are left in my control, which are: 1. Go to Graduate School, 2. Don’t drop out of graduate school, and 3. Get a job that is not just a purposeful career, but a vocational calling,” said Bruns.