by Hannah Voss :
It is a pleasure to introduce to you one of our Summer Fellows, Blaire Barr. She is serving as the HR Intern at Regina Health Center.
Blaire is a rising Senior at Notre Dame College majoring in Business Administration and Human Resource Management with a minor in International Business. She was drawn to the Summer Fellows program because it looked like a great opportunity to learn more about the career she is interested in, make connections, and receive extra career help on Fellowship Fridays.
As an HR intern, Blaire mainly helps with the hiring process which includes doing phone screenings, background checks, reference checks, and assisting in interviews and onboarding. She recently “created a job posting bulletin board showing job opportunities at Regina and the employee reference program.” Blaire is currently working on an employee survey where she is asking different employees from different departments about what they like about Regina and any recommendations they have. She has learned a lot from her Supervisor, Joyce Haynes, along the way. “Joyce has showed me how to do many HR responsibilities which include reference checks, background checks, phone interviews, and onboarding. She has also taught me about different laws and regulations regarding the workplace. An example is letting me sit in on interviews to see how they go and to let me learn how to do them in the future.” Blaire has two mentors, Sister Ruth Ann Patrick, CSA and Sister Nancy Hendershot, CSA. “They both have told me their interesting stories of how they got into the Catholic Church. I have gained a different perspective of how the Catholic Church works and the process of becoming a nun. It’s something I never knew much about before, so it was interesting to learn more about it.”
Blaire has enjoyed making connections and relationships with the residents of Regina as well as the employees. She has learned so much about human resources and it has been a great learning experience for her. She said her biggest growing experience has been getting out of her comfort zone by doing HR duties on her own such as interviewing people for job openings. The most memorable experience for Blaire was talking to her mentors and the other residents at Regina. “My mentors have great insights, advice, and stories. The residents I’ve met and created relationships with have been very kind and interesting to talk to.”
Blaire said she has learned a lot about the history of Regina Health Center. It was started by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. They came to Cleveland from France in the 1800s and started charitable healthcare in the Cleveland area. They opened several hospitals, orphanages, and some schools. Regina Health Center was originally the motherhouse of the Sisters, and they converted it to a nursing home and an assisted living facility in the late 1990s. Now, Regina Health Center is a 5-star facility that gives great faith-based care to the elderly.
In the future, Blaire hopes to grow in her HR skills and other business-related activities. She has loved building relationships and connections through this experience and hopes to continue that in the future as well.
Ms. Hannah Voss is currently a Counseling and Art Therapy Graduate student at Ursuline College, and will be graduating this December. She is the worship leader at her church in Cleveland called Cove City Church. Hanna volunteers with RAHAB Ministries in Cleveland where a Ministry group goes into the clubs and shows the love of Jesus to the women working there. She also leads a bible study on Friday nights at Cove and loves diving into The Word!
“I am a complete nerd who loves Jesus! Star Wars, Marvel, and Lord of the Rings are my favorite! You will always find me with something lavender in color; it’s my favorite. In college I played DII volleyball an also coached at the club and high school level. I am married to Ethan and “I am an enneagram 2; I love personality tests.” Hanna wrote and held the reflection sessions for the Fellows on Fridays as part of the 2022 Summer Fellows program.