Professor. Business owner. Wife and mother.
Mandy Harrelson, professor in the College of Business, exemplifies what it is to be a multi-tasker.
Harrelson, an Auburn alumna, was presented with an opportunity to open her own branch of Northwestern Mutual, a Fortune 500 company that provides financial advice.
Northwestern Mutual prides itself on representatives establishing close relationships with their clients.
Harrelson interviewed for a representative job in Montgomery, but was presented with a different opportunity.
"The nearest office is in Montgomery, so when I interviewed there they wanted me to commute," Harrelson said. "The problem there is, it's so relationship-based. Thankfully, the district director really believed in me and had faith that I could start an office in Opelika."
Harrelson opened the Opelika branch in June 2005 the day after she returned home from her honeymoon.
Business owner is not the only role Harrelson plays on a daily basis, as she is also a professor of finance at Auburn.
After receiving a call from John Jahera, dean of the finance department, Harrelson decided to give teaching a chance.
"I was hesitant because I had never taught before, and he said, 'Well, you've always tutored our students, and the other professors think very highly of you and would like for you to come on,'" Harrelson said.
Harrelson said balancing the many responsibilities she has with two jobs isn't always easy, but she has found a way to manage her time.
"Balancing the two at first was a struggle," Harrelson said, "but now that I've gotten used to it, I can manage the two quite nicely because I teach the same class. Sure, there are tweaks I have to make, but I don't have to prepare for an entirely separate class."
Levale Speigner, financial assistant at the Opelika branch, enjoys working with Harrelson because of her commitment to both of her titles.
"She handles balancing the two very well," Speigner said. "She does a great job balancing taking care of our needs as a rep as well as handle her clients and her workload."
According to Matthew Dixon, another financial assistant at the firm, Harrelson has struck the perfect balance in managing her time with the many different people that need her attention.
"One good thing is that she only has classes in the morning and has the afternoon to focus on things here," Dixon said. "She's got a husband, child, students, co-workers--all these people to look after, and she does a great job with that.
"As an educator, she wants to be sure (the students) are learning financial stability."
This is a lesson Harrelson said she considers extremely important for her students to learn.
"I do have a passion for the idea that everyone, no matter what your degree is, needs to know basic finance," Harrelson said. "Our society is not very financially savvy in basic saving skills."
Harrelson tells her students that they shouldn't expect to be in the same financial position as their parents upon graduation.
Harrelson also said one advantage of being both a financial adviser and a professor is that she is able to apply real-world situations to the classroom.
"I'll use examples from my clients at NM--obviously without using their names--but I can use their situations and ask students how they should structure their income," Harrelson said.
"If I can get five students to think about budgeting and saving by the time they graduate, I've done something impactful."
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