Business student takes on challenging human resources position under extreme conditions

For UNE student Will Shearon (Business Administration, ’21), an internship in the Human Resources (HR) Department at Parker Hannifin’s Pneumatics Division in Kittery has truly been a trial by fire.

Shearon started his position in early January. Just a few weeks later, COVID-19 began sweeping across the globe.

“You’re doing your best to support the operations of the company and our team members, then you throw in a virus that no one has ever seen before,” he explained. “You need to keep a sense of calm and figure out how to move forward and solve this challenge.”

Shearon had worked for the company before in Ohio, the location of its global headquarters. After two successful summer HR internships with Parker’s Aerospace Division and Fluid Connector Division, he now finds himself as the sole HR representative for the company’s plant in Maine and its 75 employees. He was thrust into a situation that many businesses have never faced before. The employees had plenty of questions.

“It was extremely difficult with all the worries and concerns,” he said. “Will the plant stay open? Can I work from home? Are we an essential operation? How do we keep everybody safe?”

Parker Hannifin is a world leader in motion and control technologies. Its products are used in many critical applications, including food and agriculture, transportation, and defense. The state of Maine has deemed the business essential, which allows it to remain open.

Shearon says the key to the job is staying informed and keeping team members up to date on what is happening.

“The situation changes on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour basis,” he commented. “So, even when I’m not in the office, I keep in touch with my colleagues. You have to be able to put yourself in other people's shoes. You have to be able to say that you respect everyone and their decisions, but we also need them to realize that this is essential work.”

Shearon says he is grateful for the assistance he has received from faculty at UNE. Early on Tami Gower, MBA, M.Ed., CPA, clinical professor in the Department of Business, began sending Shearon information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other HR issues related to COVID-19.

“That was a really lovely gesture,” Shearon said.

Shearon spends about 16 hours a week at the plant in Kittery. He is also finishing up his work for the semester by taking four of his classes on-line. He says it was difficult leaving campus because of COVID-19, but he says his professors have made the transition a lot easier.

“I've had a couple of one-on-ones with professors,” he stated. “I would contact them and say ‘can we just chat, you know, for half an hour or so’, and they’d be on the phone with me the next day.”

Shearon says these are definitely tough times, but he feels he’ll be better off on the other side of this situation.

“Doing HR during the coronavirus outbreak has been a fascinating learning experience, but there’s still so much to learn,” he said. “I’m asking questions all the time and looking to my managers for advice.”

This summer Shearon plans to move on to Hartford, Connecticut, for another HR internship with CVS Health Corporation. After what he has experienced the past few weeks, he is confident that he will be ready for this new challenge.