The McNeese State University student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management has received the Merit Award designation from the national SHRM organization for an exceptional job of providing opportunities for growth and development to its student chapter members.

"SHRM is proud to recognize our Superior Merit and Merit Award winning student chapters. They have demonstrated leadership through their proven ability to serve the networking and educational needs of human resources students and to the advancement of the human resources profession,” said Chuck Salvetti, SHRM's student programs manager.SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management.

The mission of the McNeese student chapter of SHRM is to provide professional development opportunities for students, according to McNeese SHRM President Amber Manuel, of Welsh.

"With support from the Imperial Calcasieu Human Resource Managers Association, our chapter activities included resume workshops, professional speaker events and the addition of a mentor/protégé program called ‘Friends in High Places,' which matches successful alumni with students. During spring 2010, the chapter also hosted a leadership conference for 42 student leaders on campus,” said Manuel.

The chapter will be recognized at the SHRM National Conference June 25-28 in San Diego, Calif. Those student members who will be attending are: Manuel; Brian Boudreaux, Student Government Association representative from Jennings; Sonya Lavergne, vice president for marketing and public relations, from Grand Lake; and Nicholas Toti, vice president for professional development, from Slidell.