AUM I/O psychology graduate students gain hands-on training with State Personnel Department

As part of their graduate studies, AUM industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology students recently gained real-world experience by partnering with Alabama’s State Personnel Department (SPD) to refresh training resources for state employees.

Through the summer Worker Training and Development (PSYC 6650) course, students were tasked with revamping SPD training modules as a class project. SPD, the state’s central personnel agency, provides free professional development for employees across all agencies.

“We were excited to partner with AUM and use the knowledge and experience of both the professors and students,” said Jennifer Thomasson, manager of training and recruitment at SPD.  “Together, they have been an invaluable resource in ensuring the content of our training modules is current and accurate, and that new concepts are introduced and incorporated where appropriate in public sector training.”

Assistant Professor of I/O Psychology Moses Rivera, who teaches the course, said the project was designed to help students turn classroom knowledge into practice.

“Since launching the program, we’ve built relationships in the Montgomery community that give our students opportunities to apply what they learn in real organizational settings,” Rivera said. “Partnering with SPD was a perfect fit because some of its staff, including its director, have I/O psychology backgrounds. It allowed students to see how their expertise and training connects directly to our state’s workforce needs, while also considering how to measure effectiveness of training outcomes.”

Rivera and Casey Giordano, assistant professor of I/O psychology and program director, initiated conversations with SPD in April to establish the program’s first formal partnership. SPD then invited AUM students to help redesign and modernize its training resources.

“Their feedback and recommendations have made our training courses even more resonant and beneficial to our employees,” Thomasson said. “Their contributions will literally have a statewide impact and will be available to state employees in every agency and in all 67 counties in Alabama.”

To launch the project, students introduced themselves to SPD staff via Zoom before splitting into small groups. Each group selected training topics to update, ranging from customer service and time management to conflict resolution, job interviewing, and hiring practices. They created reports, instructional sequences, video guides, and refreshed course materials such as PowerPoint presentations, all developed using SPD guidelines.

“These training courses serve over 6,000 state employees every year,” Rivera said. “Giving our students a chance to contribute while learning how to design, implement, and evaluate training programs created a true win-win.”

At the end of the summer term, students presented their completed training modules to SPD. For many, the experience was a career-defining moment.

“This project gave me hands-on experience applying I/O psychology concepts to real organizational needs,” said graduate student Amber Hasan, who expects to graduate in Spring 2026. “It strengthened my skills and inspired me to pursue impactful work in the field.”

Graduate student Hannah Russell, also anticipating graduation in Spring 2026, said the experience broadened her perspective.

“Designing strategic, high-impact trainings with real implications refined my expertise in training and development, and reinforced my commitment to driving meaningful organizational change,” she said.

Classmate Kiara Henry echoed the sentiment.

“By providing real-world experience in curriculum design, I was able to apply I/O concepts in a meaningful way that extends beyond typical coursework,” said Henry, who is also set to graduate in Spring 2026.

By elevating and amplifying its training materials, SPD aims to continually improve the quality of service state employees provide to the public.

“It was enlightening for us to see how people outside our realm viewed the training we conduct with state employees,” said Harry Abrams, an SPD training coordinator who also worked closely with faculty and students.

Launched in Spring 2022, AUM’s two-year, fully online I/O psychology program prepares professionals to advance in employee relations, organizational culture, personnel assessment, and other workforce leadership roles.

Photo caption: Graduate students from AUM’s summer industrial and organizational psychology class (from left) Amber Hasan, Hannah Russell, and Kiara Henry who participated in the training project with the Alabama State Personnel Department.