Working in Clark County: Marcela Navarro, human resources generalist

Cadet Manufacturing in Fruit Valley employs around 110 people. Human resources generalist Marcela Navarro estimates she interacts with at least half of them on a weekly basis. “Every person in HR will tell you that what they love the most about the profession is interacting with and working with people,” she said. “If you do not enjoy that you will not be successful. You must be learning what they need and earning their trust always; that means having credibility, which is critical to being successful.”

Residence neighborhood: Harney Heights.

Age: 28.

Employer: Cadet Manufacturing.

Business address: 2500 W. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver.

On the web: cadetheat.com

Educational/professional background: Originally from northern Mexico, I moved to Edinburg, Texas, at 16 and later on enrolled at the University of Texas-Pan American. While in college, I decided to pursue a degree in journalism, and I graduated with honors in December of 2009. I enjoyed going to school so much that I decided to go back to complete a master’s degree in communication studies. Since I was a little kid, I enjoyed experiencing many different things, which resulted in having many different jobs — a child day care, convenience stores and nonprofits. It was then that I realized I truly love working with different types of people, so I transitioned into a human resources job, and it was the perfect fit for me.

How — and when — you got started in your business: While in college in the fall of 2009, I joined the HR team as a student worker. After graduation, I was offered a full-time job in recruitment and officially became part of the team. During the five years I worked at the university, I progressively worked my way through the different areas of the human resources management team while obtaining experience in the areas of training and development, compensation, leave management and recruitment. My boyfriend was offered a job here in Vancouver, and I followed him here. I’ve been at Cadet about seven months.

Personal/business philosophy: Always chase the challenge; look for experiences that make you nervous and uncomfortable, because no great accomplishment has ever been achieved within an individual’s comfort zone.

Most rewarding part of job: Being of service to those around me. It does not matter if I am helping our employees change their benefits options, enroll in continuing education classes, or mediating a conflict, it is amazingly rewarding to know that you are helping someone accomplish their goals in life.

Most challenging part of job: Finding a way to move beyond the daily functions and start developing new initiatives and improvements, and simplifying processes in order to provide a better service to clients. Finding ways for continuous improvement in my job is like going to the gym. I don’t want to go because every muscle in my body hurts, but once I am done, the sense of accomplishment is incredible.

Something surprising about your work: I have heard many people say things like “HR told me to do this” or “I can’t, HR has my hands tied.” None of these statements are true. One of our goals is to identify areas of risk for the organization and our employees and make strategic recommendations to mitigate that risk. We understand that there are many paths to the top of the mountain, so we always make the effort to provide several solutions to a problem.

Best feature of your Clark County community: I have been in Clark County for only a year and I love Fort Vancouver, the farmers market, and the many beautiful parks. Being from Texas, it’s amazing to see all that beautiful green.

What would make your community a better place: Light-rail transit.

Your favorite travel destination and type: I love spur-of-the-moment road trips. Last year, we decided to drive from Edinburg, Texas, to Seattle in the middle of winter. It was one of the most terrifying and wonderful trips I have made in my life.

Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: Paper Tiger Coffee. Seriously, they are the absolute best.

Hobbies: Reading, hiking, organizing stuff and playing with my puppy.

Most enjoyable book/play/movie/arts event in past 12 months: I am reading “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” and it is awesome. I also enjoyed seeing “Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon” this year in Portland.

Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: I would like to spend New Year’s Day in Tierra del Fuego (archipelago at South America’s southernmost tip) just to be able to say that I started my year “at the end of the world.”

One word to describe yourself: Resilient. I’m like a rubber band. I don’t have a problem with change. I make my peace that things may not end up the way I planned. But I don’t stop — I just adjust.

Person you’d most like to meet: My future self.