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The College of Business\u2019 Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MSHRM) program was in its early stages when Christine Machado Risso graduated in 2004. She was one of approximately 30 students in the program\u2019s fourth cohort at FIU, and it has guided her career for the last decade.<\/p>\n
Today, Machado Risso is the Director of Human Resources at The HEAT Group, parent of the NBA\u2019s Miami HEAT and the AmericanAirlinesArena.<\/p>\n
\u201cMSHRM set me on the right path for my career and helped set me apart from others,\u201d said Machado Risso. \u201cI still remember the things I learned during the MSHRM program; they\u2019re still top of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the MSHRM fundamentals that still stands out today is networking, Machado Risso recalled. In the program\u2019s group projects the same team worked together, allowing for close collaboration and friendships to form. In fact, it was an FIU MSHRM graduate who told Machado Risso about the opportunity at the HEAT.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important concept wasn\u2019t only knowledge, it was also teamwork,\u201d she added. \u201cThe program helped me become a better manager and develop my leadership skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an undergraduate, Machado Risso majored in elementary education and had every intention of entering the classroom. Then she made a 360-degree turn after getting a taste of the business world.<\/p>\n
Why human resources? \u201cMy mom has owned a successful staffing firm here in South Florida since 1985 and seeing her as a businesswoman and an entrepreneur made me aspire to do what she does,\u201d said Machado Risso.<\/p>\n
Earlier in her career, Machado Risso was a human resources coordinator at a health maintenance organization (HMO) in Miami. She joined the HEAT in 2004 as a human resources coordinator was promoted to manager in 2007 and to director in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat sets the Miami HEAT franchise apart, as a workplace and as a culture, from other types of companies is how everyone who works here\u00a0shares that same binding, emotional, compelling sense of teamwork,\u201d Machado Risso said. \u201cWe win together. We lose together.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"machado-risso-03\"](\"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/machado-risso-03.jpg\")
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A walk through the business offices of The HEAT Group reveals walls lined floor to ceiling with photos of \u201cthe team behind the team\u201d celebrating championships and milestones with each other, players, families, and friends. And their names are pieced together in oversized letters forming what Machado Risso calls \u201cone giant collage of unity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, her responsibilities include employee relations, staffing, benefits and open enrollment, training and development, plus performance management and engagement. Machado Risso is part of a six-person department with three direct reports, one of which is a fellow MSHRM graduate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s never a dull moment,\u201d said Machado Risso, who\u2019s now hiring for the AmericanAirlines Arena event staff. \u201cWorking with both HEAT and Arena employees brings about unique and rewarding challenges each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Machado Risso explained that recruiters pay extra attention to resumes of candidates with a master\u2019s degree in today\u2019s job market. \u201cA master\u2019s degree most definitely provides a competitive advantage,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
MSHRM positions human resources in the business context, emphasizing the importance of being a strategic partner within an enterprise as well as working in an increasingly diverse industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman resources management has become so much more than just the administrative function of the past,\u201d said Machado Risso. \u201cTo be an effective strategic partner, you have to use your knowledge, but also good judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The College of Business\u2019 Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MSHRM) program was in its early stages when Christine Machado Risso graduated in 2004. She was one of approximately 30 students in the program\u2019s fourth cohort at FIU, and it has guided her career for the last decade. Today, Machado Risso is the Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":25801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1812,1954],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25797"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25809,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25797\/revisions\/25809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}