In the Classroom & On the Court – CHSE Senior Sydney Mukes Exemplifies All Things Leadership

May 27, 2020

BATON ROUGE - Although spring 2020 graduates are not able to participate in a traditional ceremony, they are finding new ways to celebrate accomplishments and working toward new goals for the future. Sydney Mukes is a graduate who flourished in the classroom and across LSU’s campus. Mukes studied in the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development (LHRD) with a minor in Psychology. She also played as an outside hitter for the LSU Volleyball team.

Coming from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mukes chose to travel down south to continue playing volleyball and experience the academics that LSU had to offer. As a freshman, she knew that she had passion for teaching, leadership and working with people. Mukes knew that LHRD was the perfect fit for her after seeing how applicable the leadership and professional skills she learned in class were to her life.

“The LHRD program really encompassed everything I was looking for.”

Mukes says that Dr. Edward Gibbons really shaped her experience during her years as an undergraduate. After taking one of his introduction classes as a sophomore, he became a mentor to her. Dr. Gibbons helped guide her through editing resumes and landing the perfect internship. She says the LHRD faculty has always been willing to help students in any way, and Dr. Gibbons is a great example of that.

Mukes was even able to apply teamwork and management skills on the court. She was able to communicate and relate with others on her team, which gave her real life experience that she can take to the business world. Balancing her commitment as a student athlete with coursework and internships was not always easy for Mukes. She says she was able to learn from experience and better herself through her failures.

Off the court, Mukes worked as an intern for the Success Institute which is a coaching and training organization located in Baton Rouge. During this time, she was able to attend conferences, create corporate wellness workshop materials for potential clients and develop website content to assist in obtaining new clientele. She is currently interning for Success Labs, a leadership development and management consulting firm.

Even though her ceremony was postponed, Mukes was able to celebrate her graduation with family by tuning into the virtual livestream that LSU provided. Mukes is grateful that her family was still able to make this situation special for her. Moving forward, Mukes has been accepted into the Masters of Science program in Leadership & Human Resource Development at LSU. As a Teacher’s Assistant, Mukes is excited to work with Dr. Gibbons in his classes and gain more experience in working with students.

 

About the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development

The LSU School of Leadership & Human Resource Development (SLHRD) offers programs dedicated to producing world-class practitioners, leaders, and instructors in human resource and leadership development. The BS, MS, PhD, and certificate programs are designed to develop the leadership, planning, analytical, problem solving, and change management capabilities that today's globalized organizations need to be successful. Additionally, SLHRD also offers two master’s programs and a certificate program, of which are 100% online. The School is housed within the College of Human Sciences & Education.  

About the College of Human Sciences & Education

The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Library & Information Science, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and 7 online graduate degree programs, enrolling more than 2,020 undergraduate and 879 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan.