HR student says courses "lit a fire" for learning

After a successful 20+ year as a braillist in Elk Island Public Schools, Leanne Cross saw a new path on the horizon. While helping people was always at the top of her list of career priorities, she sought to challenge herself in an entirely different profession.

Continuing in the vein of helping others, Cross began taking online courses and soon earned an Occupational Health and Safety Diploma through the University of Alberta’s Continuing and Professional Education in 2020. Her time working in the education system had solidified her belief in the value of lifelong learning; in seeking ways to work toward her goals, she found Mount Royal’s Human Resource Management continuing education program and is now just a few courses away from earning her Extension Certificate.

Mount Royal’s Faculty of Continuing Education prides itself on delivering excellent value to its students. Cross says that not only were the courses priced reasonably, but everything from the course materials to the online learning experience was worth every dollar.

“Online learning has become much more accessible. It fits into my life so I can still work full time,” she says.

Cross particularly appreciated that the instructors helped her cohort feel like they were part of a real classroom and that they made themselves available to answer questions or provide advice, even outside of class hours.

“I love that all of our instructors have been genuinely interested in our learning and our success too. You can tell they’re very passionate about what they do and want to share their knowledge. That small, tight-knit feeling is there. You don’t just feel like a number. Your instructors actually do want to connect with you.” 

Along with giving advice about specific assignments and concepts taught within the coursework, Cross says that her instructors provided mentorship and networking suggestions that helped her advance her career. Recently promoted to HR/OHS lead at Sherwood Park’s Greenland Garden Centre, which employs over 200 people, Cross says that while it’s been a “big learning curve”,  the things she’s learned through her Mount Royal coursework, along with the additional resources offered by instructors, have been incredibly valuable. “I’m applying so much of what I’m learning. It’s real life. It’s current.”

Continuing to learn and grow is important to Cross. In the several years she spent working in that field, Cross noticed that there was overlap between occupational health and safety (OHS) and human resources (HR), and sought to combine them to earn a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation. When looking further into the overlaps between OHS and HR, she says that while she spends some days working on and writing policies, she sees a synergy of the two “halves” of her career in improving workplace culture.

One area in which the two really come together, Cross says, is in labour relations. “A new trend in health and safety where I really feel like there’s overlap is psychological safety. It’s not just incident reports and being safe and wearing safety vests - it’s all of it. Working with humans, you have that emotion. You have to learn not only about the legislation, but about the moral and ethical parts of it and where do we stand on these things?” she explains. 

“Considerations around diversity and equity, for example, have changed so much. You don’t talk about that as much in OHS but you do when it comes to creating a holistic workplace environment, something that’s not toxic. It’s not just about labour standards but also mental health aspects and effective conflict resolution. Sometimes the lines are so blurred - is this OHS or am I talking about HR? So I’m finding that having both has been very helpful.”

Cross hopes to complete a degree in the future and is considering a master’s degree. Truly exemplifying the lifelong learner, she says it’s important to her personally to stay abreast of new trends and topics not only in her career, but outside of it as well. 

“Times change and I think it’s important to recognize that, be a part of that and learn as much as you can. Mentally, it’s good for you to keep learning and meeting as many new people as possible. It was definitely a lot of growth for me. It had been over 20 years since I’d been in post secondary so I was a bit nervous and it was out of my comfort zone. But it definitely lit a fire in me that I want to keep going.”