Workforce Ed Students Recognized at Professional Conference
Two graduate students from the College of Education's Workforce Education program won awards in February at the Academy of 
Human Resource Development (AHRD) Conference in Arlington, VA. Yu Kyoung Park won the 2013 Academy of Human Resource Development Cutting Edge Award for co-writing a paper titled "The learning organization and innovative behavior: The mediating effect of work engagement." Cho Hyun Park won the 2013 Korean Academy of Human Resource Development Association Research Award for co-writing a paper titled "A Missing Link: Psychological Ownership as a Mediator Between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior." In addition, alumnus Ji Hoon Song '08 Ph.D. Workforce Education (WFED) was a co-author on both of the winning papers.
Yu Kyoung Park said she was shocked when the award announcements were made.
"This is my first conference paper, so I couldn't believe what I was hearing," said Yu Kyoung Park. "I am so happy and thankful for my co-authors."
Judy Kolb, associate professor of WFED, said student participation in the AHRD Conference has grown from the occasional student-coauthored paper to the active involvement of 18 students in this year's conference.
"For many students, conference papers provide stepping stones toward publication in respected peer-reviewed journals. Visibility at this and other conferences can lead to opportunities for fellowships, speaking engagements and full-time positions," said Kolb. "We are proud to recognize the papers presented and the awards won by students at the 2013 AHRD conference. They demonstrated to an international audience the excellent work that is being produced in the WFED program at Penn State."
Authors who presented papers:
- Ali Habeeb Alkhalaf
- Rashed Alzahmi
- I-Pang Fu
- Gun Sung Joung
- Taesung Kim
- Woocheol Kim
- Bora Kwon
- Cho Hyun Park
- Jae-Young Park
- Jong Gyu Park
- Yu Kyung Park
- Aileen G. Zaballero
Co-authors of presented papers:
- Veronica C. Hughston
- Maureen Jones
- Maria T. Kirby
- Judith Kolb
- William Rothwell
- Nai-Fen Su
- Steven Welch
Congratulations to the award winners and to all who participated in the AHRD conference.
--by Kevin Sliman (February 2012)
