HR management graduate driven by compassion for others

Getting involved with DECA at Cashmere High School sparked something special in Georga Andrew.

The organization helped her tap into her fascination with the world of business and her drive to support other people. At the same time, DECA helped her envision what her future career might look like.

“It’s almost laughable to think about a teenage girl feeling giddy over human resources and compliance law, but I’ve always had such a passion for people,” Andrew said. “Human resources management was just this perfect cross-section of that and my love for business.”

Over the course of her high school career, Andrew had taken a few College in the High School classes through CWU, and she came to realize that the school could offer her a path forward.

“I knew a lot of people who came to Central, and it was close to home, so it just kind of seemed like the right fit,” she said. “I knew I wanted to go into HR and that there was a really good business program there, so it all lined up.”

Once she enrolled at CWU, Andrew found a vibrant and engaged community of leaners and teachers just waiting to share in her journey, supporting her however they could.

“Professors will remember a small detail about something I told them weeks ago and ask about it later, and that just means the world to me,” she said. “I feel like at other universities, you end up as just a face in a crowd, but here, I was able to build relationships with the faculty that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.”

As her connections with her peers and mentors grew, so did Andrew’s involvement with her program outside of the classroom. These connections proved to be transformative for her college career.

“Being as involved as you can is my best piece of advice to anyone who might be thinking about going to college,” Andrew said. “It’s how I made all of my friends, and it’s how I developed some real-world experience. Just going to the guest lectures and asking a ton of questions is probably what has set me up the best for grad school.”

Eventually, Andrew took on the public relations director role for CWU’s chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). On one of the organization’s conference trips about six months ago, SHRM Advisor and Professor of Management James Avey suggested that she pursue law school after graduation, advice that resonated with Andrew’s deep desire to help people through compassion and understanding.

“In these six short months since, I’ve studied for the LSAT, achieved a high score on it, and have been accepted into several law schools,” she said. “That’s all because of him and his belief that I could do something bigger than just getting my bachelor’s degree.”

As she does her research on which offer to accept, Andrew looks back on how she’s grown as a person during her time as a Wildcat.

“I have a whole new level of gratitude for every person I encounter,” she said. “I just want to be as generous with my compassion as I can be, and I think being in human resources is about being able to communicate and build relationships with anyone from any walk of life.”

Above all, Andrew feels a sense of agency and purpose as she looks to the future. She hopes that others can find that footing, too.