Upon receiving my Masters degree from Cornell’s ILR program, I accepted a position with Raytheon Company in their Human Resources Leadership Development Program. The program is designed to provide three vastly unique opportunities in various geographic locations and segments of HR, so the program presented a great opportunity coming out of the MILR program. 

During my two years on the program I had the opportunity to work in three unique roles. I spent my first role as an HR generalist supporting the Supply Chain, Operations, and Engineering organizations in our Florida production facility. Because the site was unionized, I was also heavily involved in the daily management of our collective bargaining agreement. My second role was in our Technical Services organization working in a strategic projects role. In this role, I had the opportunity to participate in strategic proposal development, the talent and succession management process, and organization wide diversity initiatives.

My final assignment was in our talent management organization at Raytheon’s Global Headquarters. Here, I had the opportunity to design and develop the enterprise wide talent review process for 2006, engage in OE team interventions, and participate in strategic projects for the Board of Directors with senior leaders in the company. Because all of my assignments were so different in nature and scope, I had a great opportunity to really develop a breadth of HR competencies while developing a great understanding of the organization’s operations.

Upon completion of the rotational program in July of 2006, I transitioned into a role as a talent management specialist for our Technical Services organization. This has been a wonderful and exciting opportunity that has given me direct involvement in the development of the next generation of leadership for the organization. Currently, I am heavily involved in our talent and succession management processes as well as our organizational effectiveness processes and initiatives.

Prior to attending Cornell, I completed my Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My experience at Cornell provided me with a great foundation for transitioning into my position with Raytheon. I left Cornell with a thorough understanding of the technical function of HR, but more importantly, I left Cornell with an understanding of the strategic importance of the function and the impact it has to the organization. The program provided great exposure to professors and thought leaders in the field along with executive leadership in a variety of organizations across the globe. The ILR program provided an invaluable experience both personally and professionally, and truly laid a strong foundation for future success.

- Laurel McKie, MILR '04