Ashland University Student and Wadsworth Resident Interns for Ohio Department of Natural Resources

2016 Sep 22

ASHLAND, Ohio - Wadsworth resident, Karissa Magnacca, who is a senior business management major at Ashland University, completed an internship over the summer. Magnacca interned for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Columbus, Ohio, under the supervision of the human resources administrator, Michele Ward-Tackett.

She is the daughter of Joseph and Renee Magnacca of Wadsworth. Magnacca is a 2013 graduate of Wadsworth Senior High School.

"The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is a state government agency that revolves around nature and the well-being of the environment. We have divisions from oil and gas, all the way to parks," said Magnacca. "Working in the Office of Human Resources, we get to touch every division and have a large impact on the employees and customers."

Magnacca completed a wide range of tasks on a daily basis. She was responsible for data entry on background checks, new employees, promotions and terminations. She completed job analyses and created new or updated position descriptions, as well as created ID badges for other employees.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources asked Magnacca to tackle the "PD Project," which was a position description project. She took the old position descriptions and either organized, scanned, filed, created or destroyed them. It took Magnacca a lengthy amount of time to finish the project because the position descriptions were created before the Ohio Department of Natural Resources became centralized, which meant that there were position descriptions from every division.

Magnacca also ran background checks during the largest hiring season for seasonal positions. She ran checks for lifeguards, natural resource specialists and other intermittent positions throughout the course of the summer.

With her list of duties and projects, it was important for Magnacca to learn that not all situations are the same when it comes to human resources. Magnacca found it necessary to always be prepared and to understand that every employee is unique and therefore, comes with unique situations.

She also learned the value of time and documentation. Magnacca kept documents for an allotted period of time in case a problem were to arise, providing protection for the both the employer and the employee.

"The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has two unions, the FOP and OSCEA. Working with the unions, I learned how they operate as well as how important wording is when it comes to the contracts," Magnacca said. "You don't want to leave anything up for interpretation. I was also able to see how a union defends the employee during mediations and grievances. I was also able to see how management responds when they are considered 'in the wrong' or when they have won a case."

Magnacca further explained, "One final point I learned is that every law is beyond important. It is easy to abide by one law and then miss another, even unintentionally. I have to know what I am doing and the impact it has on others, including my employer. Knowing the basics is a start, but there is so much more to learn."

Ashland University's human resource and management classes helped Magnacca prepare for the internship. She specifically credits Professor Kalamas for her success. Laws and regulations were important factors throughout the duration of the internship and due to her prior education, Magnacca did to not have to constantly research the terms or ideas.

"My management classes also were very helpful in teaching me how to interact with employees -- from praising an employee to discipline," said Magnacca. "All of my classes also helped me understand the underlying basis of how a company or government agency works. I don't think I would have been able to understand why some things were done in the manner they were without this underlying basic information."

Magnacca believes that reading a book and being lectured on material is one way to learn, but she felt that being able to actually experience learned concepts was an amazing opportunity.

"I will take with me to AU the idea that things are not always done how I have read them in a textbook, but having this knowledge will guide me in the right direction. I feel I took this too lightly the previous year," she said. "I also believe my newfound knowledge and experience will allow me to make more connections in my classes as I continue to learn. I may understand things better because I have experienced them, or know of a situation through a co-worker."

The internship affirmed Magnacca's career interests. After graduation, she plans to work full time in human resources and after a year, attend law school on a part-time basis.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###