Miranda Boyd has always known the military life—her father is a U.S. Marine, and her mother was in the U.S. Navy. And when Miranda grew up, she also married into the armed services.
She enjoys the mobility and the excitement of always seeing new things and meeting new people. But for military spouses especially, that nomadic life can hinder a person’s ability to build up experience and longevity in a job and a career.
“My goal while we’re here in Washington is to eventually find full-time employment with the state, and one day become a dentist,” Miranda explained. She holds a bachelor of science in biology from Claflin University (South Carolina), and she’s on track to complete her master’s in public health from George Washington University in May 2019.
Work Ex, a Camo2Commerce internship program, is helping her keep that dream alive. Work Ex introduces military spouses and transitioning service members into the civilian workforce, providing exposure to industry requirements and hands-on experience, and meeting specific employer needs. A Work Ex on-site training opportunity—such as with HCA—allows transitioning service members or spouses to acclimate to a company’s culture and offers employers the opportunity to be confident that the person is a good fit for the organization.
Earlier this year, Miranda entered into a 12-week commitment with HCA as a human resource consultant assistant 1 for HR’s recruitment team. She’s been responsible for maintaining recruitment records in the applicant-tracking system, and supporting career fairs and sourcing functions.
“I’m loving the work and the opportunity to build a new network here in the state,” Miranda said. “The internship doesn’t guarantee employment, but I’m meeting a lot of different people and as part of the program am participating in informational interviews several times a week.”
She’s also enjoyed connecting with HCA’s Veteran’s Employee Resource Group and with employees who either are veterans or military spouses like herself.
The theme of connections reaches far back not only in Miranda’s personal life, but in her work life as well. She previously worked in Washington, D.C., with the Department of Employment Services’ Office of Youth Program, where she developed and implemented curriculum for the Marion Berry Youth Leadership Institute. There, she was a program trainer, mentoring kids ages 14-23 and helping them learn alternatives to life on the streets.
Before that, she worked as a team leader for the George Washington University ISCOPES (Interdisciplinary Student Community-Oriented Prevention Enhancement Service) Healthy Teen Scholars Learning Community.
Now, that lifetime of learning and leveraging connections in her personal life and her work life has led to HCA—where she is, not surprisingly, excelling at putting people together with the programs and places that will move their lives farther down the road to success.
“At our open house employment event in September, Miranda jumped right in and helped the HR team stage this huge hiring event with a master list of the day’s activities,” said Sanyu Tushabe, human resource consultant.
“Miranda’s analytical skills have been so valuable, and she’s been key in helping us move to a paperless system for tracking interview notes, which will be an enormous help for all of our hiring in the future. She’s been a terrific asset,” Sanyu added.
HCA is fortunate to have occupied even a small space on Miranda’s impressive résumé. With her background, skills, education, and work experience, it’s certain she won’t be job-hunting for long.