‘I thought, why not study microbiology to know as much as I could about the pandemic’

Hannah Balda applied to VHI’s graduate programme

, Ben and Jerry’s – that’s me from there. I studied at the University of Vermont for my undergraduate degree, and that was during Covid.

So I thought why not study microbiology to know as much as I could about the pandemic at the time. I basically watched what a poor response the US and the rest of the world had to a pandemic, and that led me to pursue a master’s in public health, and I did that at UCD. I saw an ad on LinkedIn or Indeed, one of the job platforms.

It combines the aspect of healthcare that I really enjoy, and the ability to explore different areas of the business as well, because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after my master’s. I figured it was a great opportunity to get involved with something that I do have an interest in. In the first area I was working with some of our corporate members and co-ordinating health services for them.

In the second part of the rotations I was in group healthcare, which really focuses on population health. One of the key things I’m sure all grad programmes want you to do is get a well-rounded education of the company and how it operates. WorldSkills Ireland 2026 guide: Planning your visit and what to expectSo from there I moved into HR, which we call people services here.

I didn’t think I would enjoy it but I really liked it, and that was completely unexpected because I had no plans to get into people services. So that was super fun. Honestly, the best part of the grad programme has to be the people, it has to be the culture here. Everyone is just the sweetest.

We’ve got so many different organisations and clubs, and I’ve been involved in sports and social, our women’s network and our mental health group. The people in every aspect of the company have been a pleasure to work with. I am a communications and change co-ordinator. That means I’m split 50-50 with the internal communications department and the change management of our company.

That came up about two months ago, there was a role that opened up on the people services team, which I had worked with before and I really enjoyed it, so I figured I might as well apply. I ended up getting the job, and it’s only been a couple of weeks that I’ve been here, but I’m really enjoying it.

I’d love to see where this will take me in communications and change management, both are relevant to so many businesses. Networking. I would say in-person is always better, it’s one of the best skills and lessons that I have learned and that I was never taught in school. People will always have your back if you can learn to build a relationship with them.

Part of that is showing you’re willing to learn, it doesn’t really matter that you know something, it’s just that you can learn it. Whether or not you think you are qualified or capable, just apply anyway, you never know, honestly. Go into anything with confidence.

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