DENTON (UNT), Texas — UNT’s Society for Human Resource Management affiliate has been awarded the 2017-2018 Outstanding Student Chapter Award by their national society for their excellent initiatives to ensure their members thrive and become future professionals. The UNT chapter will be presented a plaque at the national organization’s annual conference in Chicago on June 17.

The society’s student chapter merit award program, was created in 1972 to encourage student chapters to require ongoing excellence in the following areas: student chapter requirements, chapter operations, chapter programming and professional development of members, support of the human resource profession and engagement with the national program.

“As we move together forward, young professionals like these being honored at distinguished student chapters play a vital role in SHRM’s success,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and chief executive officer of SHRM. “I’m especially honored to thank this year’s award winners because they offer excellent evidence that SHRM’s future is indeed in good hands.”

Student chapters have the opportunity to earn an award based on the number of activities they complete during the merit award cycle.

The chapter devotes themselves to building student leaders into future professionals. Student members are paired with mentors that are currently working in the field and the local chapter hosts a multitude of events for them to meet and network.

UNT’s chapter also gives students the option to attend different networking events, competitions and workshops, including an HR seminar in New York this past spring semester. Trips like these are made possible because of donors such as UNT alumnus John Kelly and other HR faculty and staff in the Department of Management in collaboration with their fundraising efforts.