Vigil finds perfect mix of personnel management, theatre

If all the world’s a stage and that stage is filled with people, then Rosemary Vigil ’19 is good to go.

That’s because she’s a double major in theatre and dance and personnel management. The junior who likes “working with people to create something amazing” says the two majors are the perfect mix.

“They seem like opposites, but not actually at all,” she said.

Vigil decided to add personnel management as her second major when Cornell added it to the lineup of offerings this past fall. Since then, she’s been busy putting her liberal arts education to work by incorporating theatre into her business classes and business into her theatre classes.

“A lot of my theatre groups have benefitted from my business skills because I’m incorporating a lot of motivation tactics and applying the knowledge I have about how businesses complete tasks and set goals,” Vigil said. “I applied the skills to rehearsals and improv practices. It’s just making sure everyone is going in the same direction.”

Likewise, during one of Vigil’s business courses last semester, she designed a human capital management system for a theatre in Colorado. It was the same theatre where she completed a Cornell Fellowship the summer before. The project included interviewing people with a certain type of job at the theatre, creating a recruitment plan, coming up with a selection process, and designing a performance management plan.

Vigil says the personnel management major is great for her career plan. The self-proclaimed extrovert enjoys the stage management role of theatre and has goals of working in an administrative arts role. Her new major also helps with general life skills.

“I feel like I will have a leg-up on applying for jobs after these personnel management classes,” Vigil said. “I know what people look for in a resume and a cover letter, and I know what’s appropriate to do during an interview. I also know how to act when you already have a job too and even how to ask for a raise.”

Personnel management is one of two new business majors offered by Cornell. The other is Business management. The faculty knows these are important focuses for the futures of many students.

“The jobs of tomorrow are jobs that require people to think critically and creatively, to communicate effectively, to synthesize diverse information, to have hard skills in quantitative analysis, but also soft skills in human relations and team building,” said David Joyce Professor of Economics and Business Todd Knoop. “These are exactly the skills that these new management majors will develop, and will prepare our students for jobs of the future, not the past.”

As for Vigil, she’s looking forward to the future when she can put her skills in theatre and business to work after graduation. 

For more information, check out the website or schedule a visit to Cornell College.