Judy Delgado

A combination of natural gifts, support from key people at Preferred Care Partners Corporation, and courses offered through Executive and Professional Education (EPE) in the College of Business Administration, have enabled Judy Delgado (BS ’92) to move up in her company and to contribute to it more effectively.

It began with an email from the college announcing the EPE course titled Extraordinary Administrative Support. Delgado, formerly an administrative assistant in the member services department, had recently been promoted to training and development coordinator in the human resources (HR) department. There, she reported to Peter Setzer, vice president of operations and a member of the college’s Executive MBA (EMBA) Advisory Board, and to Cynthia Fernández, director of HR, and a member of the college’s Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MSHRM) Advisory Board. They thought the EPE course would benefit Delgado in her new position.

They were right.

James R. Bussey

“Part of the job involved creating training for employees and the course helped me very much,” she said. “Watching the instructor, James R. Bussey , and seeing the interaction among the participants—hearing their triumphs and heartaches—got to the heart of what administrative assistants need and feel, enabling me to relate to others at this level and to think about appropriate training within our company.”

Course builds awareness: an essential part of administration.

“The idea behind the course is to give everyone greater self-awareness and a deeper understanding of their environment,” Bussey, executive assistant/chief of staff, Executive Dean’s Office and frequent EPE instructor, said. “Administrative assistants form a critical part of any organization—as office managers, gatekeepers, listeners, and communicators. They run meetings, have to manage time, and must build relationships, including with their bosses, who may have a different style from theirs. We believe that increasing their awareness of these elements of their jobs helps improve their effectiveness.”

Joseph L. Caruncho

Delgado’s strengths as an administrative assistant had not gone unnoticed by CEO Joseph L. Caruncho, (BBA ’81), president and CEO of Preferred Care Partners Corporation, chair of the college’s Dean’s Council, and a strong university supporter in other ways.

“She had taken the lead in creating a real case study on how initiative can work,” he said. “It was a great idea, and it led to our moving her to our HR department, where she could facilitate programs in our Preferred Care Partners Corporate University.”

EPE program on HR helps Delgado gain her footing in new department.

“The course had a high level of practicality: real people in the real world in real jobs. I continue to refer to my notes almost weekly.”

—Judy Delgado, team leader, HR, Preferred Care Partners

“After my promotion to training and development coordinator in HR, I took another EPE course called Human Resources Management,” said Delgado, who recently was promoted again, this time to team leader in HR. “It gave me a holistic view of what HR is all about. The course had a high level of practicality: real people in the real world in real jobs. I continue to refer to my notes almost weekly.”

Drawing from what she learned in both courses as well as from her own experiences, she created a training seminar for the company’s administrative assistants. It ran for three half-day sessions during Administrative Assistants Week in April, 2007.

Cynthia Fernández

“What she learned in the HR course expanded her knowledge of HR in general and allowed her to understand HR’s role in the training and development of employees,” Fernández said.

Preferred Care Partners and EPE see synergistic opportunities.

Though Preferred Care Partners offers a number of internal training and development programs, Caruncho sees a strong future between his company and EPE.

“We plan to take advantage of EPE’s expertise rather than trying to replicate their courses in house.”

—Joseph L. Caruncho, CEO, Preferred Care Partners, and president, Dean’s Council

“On the Dean’s Council, we look for ways the university and business community can strengthen their relationship,” he said. “In our case, we plan to take advantage of EPE’s expertise rather than trying to replicate their courses in house.”

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with businesses to develop the skills of their employees,” said Robert Garcia (EMBA ’97), director of EPE. “We congratulate Judy Delgado and find it incredibly rewarding that she used the skills she learned in our programs to take advantage of the opportunities offered to her at Preferred Care Partners.”

To learn more about EPE, which offers a full menu of standard courses and can also customize courses for a company’s needs, visit http://business.fiu.edu/epe/epe.cfm.