Elevate: Lisa Hopper

Timothy Webb: Thank you all for joining us today here on Elevate, broadcasting from the Razorback Camper Sales Studio. This National Park College podcast highlights a different nighthawk with each episode. We'll talk about their journey, challenges, key moments of success, their moments of elevation, leveling up and overcoming. I'm Timothy Webb, your host, and I'd like to welcome to the program Lisa Hopper. Thanks so much for joining me today, Lisa. Lisa Hopper: Thank you for having me. Timothy Webb: All right. So Lisa, tell us a little bit about yourself. Lisa Hopper: All right. Well, I am the typical country kid. I grew up on a farm, one of six children. My biological father died when I was two, and my stepdad was a farmer. So I grew up rural here in Arkansas, graduated from a small school of 200, from K through 12- Timothy Webb: Wow. Lisa Hopper: ... at Oden. And married my high school sweetheart. We've been married 39 years in June and we went to college, got married halfway through college, went to work in Fort Smith. We have two children, daughter who's 33, and a son who's 31. And we have two granddaughters, one grandson and our second grandson on the way in March. So we're excited about that. We both worked. My husband's an engineer and I was a CPA, and we worked in Fort Smith for several years and then finally moved back home 30 years ago, and so that's kind of my background. Timothy Webb: Wow, wow. It sounds pretty blessed there. Lisa Hopper: Yes, I am. Very much. Timothy Webb: So, what's your position here at National Park? Lisa Hopper: Dean of Student Financial Services, formerly director of financial Aid. Timothy Webb: Okay. How long have you been here? Lisa Hopper: In July will be my 25th year I've been here. Timothy Webb: Being the dean of student financial services. What all does that entail? Lisa Hopper: I assumed that role in 2018. Besides being director of financial aid, I'm also over the testing center, career services, and I also help with the financial side of our housing project after we started our dorms here on campus. Timothy Webb: So being a CPA and the dean of student financial services, how did you get into this field? Lisa Hopper: Basically, we wanted to move back to the area. We bought land and we started looking for jobs back here and I actually received a position at Rich Mountain Community College in Mena, working in their business office. So I did that for six years, worked on getting my master's degree and kind of hit a ceiling there. My boss was the same age and educational background and all of that, and so I had had to look for something to advance myself. I actually tried for the vice president of finance position here and Ms. Janice Sawyer was the director of financial aid. They promoted her to the finance position and hired me as the director of financial aid. Timothy Webb: Oh, wow. Interesting how those work out sometimes. Lisa Hopper: Yeah, they do. Timothy Webb: What are some of the challenges you face as being the dean of student finances? Lisa Hopper: The toughest thing is there's not always enough money to go around for everyone. And telling students the bad news like, "You didn't make the required GPA that you needed to continue to get your scholarship." That's really tough. And just in my role as the director, I read all of the stories of the students that have had challenges in their life, and those are very humbling and very tough sometimes, but it makes you want to help those people even more. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Are there any common myths about your position you'd like to clear up for the audience? Lisa Hopper: Yes. I think sometimes we get the role of the no people or the bad guys or whatever. Not usually because we're usually able to give people money and give them good news, but sometimes we're seen as the bad guys or the no people because we have all these federal regulations we have to follow and people on campus call us. We say, "No, you can't do that, but here's the rule." We really are nice people. We really do care about people. If you don't care about people and have a heart for people, you won't stay in financial aid for very long. Timothy Webb: I know when I was a student here, you guys really helped me out all the time. I really did have some heroes in that department. Lisa Hopper: I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that. Timothy Webb: Can you tell us about some of the obstacles you've had to face and overcome to get to where you are today? Lisa Hopper: Well, I know probably a lot of people in Arkansas say this, but I did come up poor. My biological father died when I was two, and my stepdad was a farmer, but he didn't have a lot either, and my mom was a factory worker. And so I had Pell Grants, I did work/study. I worked really hard on my grades to have scholarships, so thankfully I didn't have to do student loans, but I worked all the way through college as a work/study. Brad and I married halfway through college, so we were those typical poor college kids that used our Pell money to pay our rent and groceries and all that. I would say I have been very blessed. I've worked hard and God's always provided to get me where I'm at. Timothy Webb: So what did you get your degree in? Lisa Hopper: My degree is actually, my first one is in accounting, and so I went to work for CPA firms in Fort Smith, and I did that for about three years. And working 70 hours a week during tax season and then deciding to have a family when I was six months pregnant, my feet propped up under the desk and doing taxes, I decided there's got to be a better way to make a living and have a family. And so then I went to work for a manufacturing company in their tax department. Then eventually got on at the business office at Rich Mountain and came there for six years and then was able to take advantage of this opportunity here. Timothy Webb: Can you tell us how it felt when you finished your degree? I know a lot of people, myself included, keep on chopping at it and just can't wait for that day. Lisa Hopper: Yes. I did the bachelor's degree right out of high school and all, but I didn't go back for my master's degree until nine years later. Because I knew I wasn't going to be able to advance unless I got that master's degree, and so I had a three-year-old and a five-year-old, and I went back at night. I'd work all day and then I'd drive to Henderson, take a class or two, put it on the credit card, pay it off till the next semester and just take a class or two at a time. Thankfully, I got right to the end and I needed one more class. It could be an elective, whatever. Henderson didn't have any classes in the summer, master's level, and so I drove to Texarkana. I did a crash course, a two week Monday through Thursday night, four hours a night and just got this marketing class. And I finished it in June and I had to have my master's degree, and this job started in July. Timothy Webb: Wow. Lisa Hopper: So I just squeaked in under there with the degree. I think I was placed where I was supposed to be. Timothy Webb: Absolutely. That's great. That's a great story. Can you tell us what rewards you about your position? Lisa Hopper: My husband and I have talked about that. He said you get instantaneous rewards because you get to see the smiles on those students' faces. The other day I was up front working at the desk and one of my former students, because I teach accounting classes on the side also, and so one of my students came in and she just came rushing across the front of the waiting area and gave me a big old hug. That's really my rewards. And then I've gotten to do a lot of volunteering with my associations on the state and regional and national levels, and so I've gotten to travel a lot and meet a lot of people from all over the United States, and I've been to 45 states now. Timothy Webb: Wow. Lisa Hopper: Because I've gotten to do all this traveling and been really, really blessed that way. Timothy Webb: Is there any lessons your position has taught you that you'd like to share with us? Lisa Hopper: Us? When I started out in accounting and a CPA, everything was about the numbers. Everything was a certain rule. It was kind of like two plus two always equals four, and I really missed the people aspect of it. So when I switched to financial aid and started helping the people, it was really humbling because everyone has a story, and like I said, as the director, you read all of the background stories about why students need to be declared independent and not put their parents' information on their FAFSA and all of those stories. And it just really keeps you humble and it makes you realize how blessed you are. Timothy Webb: Yeah. What achievements are you most proud of? Lisa Hopper: I was a treasurer for the state. When they found out I was a CPA, of course they wanted me to be the treasurer. Then I was lucky enough to be the state president. Then I volunteered with the regional and I got to be the regional president. And then I got on a national board and was selected one of six in the nation to be representatives of the different colleges and different size colleges on the national level. And this is like 3000 institutions who are in this association. And so that has really... A little girl from a school of 200, a town of 200, going to Washington DC, speaking to the congressman and representatives, going through the capital, seeing the Declaration of Independence for real. This profession has really added to my quality of life. Timothy Webb: Awesome. So you grew up in Oden, is that right? Lisa Hopper: Yes. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Yeah. We used to play you guys. Lisa Hopper: Yeah. Little tiny school. Sometimes, barely have enough kids to make a team. Timothy Webb: Well, when I was in Pee Wee's, you guys actually had boys and girls playing against us to- Lisa Hopper: To make a team. Timothy Webb: To make a team. Yeah. Lisa Hopper: Yes. That's what I came from. Timothy Webb: And I won't say we beat y'all 50 to 6. Lisa Hopper: But you probably did. You probably did. Unless it was softball. Our girls were pretty good at softball. Timothy Webb: Yeah. So what was it like growing up in Oden? Lisa Hopper: Every kid that played a sport played every sport. Timothy Webb: Yeah? Lisa Hopper: They were also on the debate club. They were on the student council. So you were in everything. I think that's where I got my volunteerism and wanting to be part of groups and associations and things. I had a twin sister. I'm one of six kids. My parents had a 14 year old, a 12 year old, a eight year old, and then they had triplet girls. And one of my triplets had a heart defect, she died at four months old. But my twin, that survived, and I are very close. We're still very close. So we just played all over that farm and we played softball and that was the only thing we were good at. We got killed at basketball. It was very Mayberry, kind of rural, wholesome growing up childhood. Timothy Webb: I've spent some time in Oden, it's a good place. Lisa Hopper: It is. It is. Good people. Timothy Webb: Can you tell us about an influential person in your life? Lisa Hopper: It would have to be my mother. She was a very strong lady. She worked in a factory. She worked on a farm. At one point she was left with five children on her own. She could stretch a dollar. She was very strong. She was strict, but she was very kind and loving. And I think she had a lot of influence on the person I am today. Timothy Webb: Can you share with us a favorite childhood memory? Lisa Hopper: I have several with my twin sister. My twin sister is a special ed teacher now. Timothy Webb: Oh. Lisa Hopper: At Oden. But she and I, we played mud pies, we built forts in the woods. Just all of those things that we did together. We were in a small little house that she and I actually had to share a bedroom until we were 12 years old, and my youngest brother went off to college. And so all the things that we did together, playing on that farm and growing up, that was my most favorable memories. Timothy Webb: Sounds pretty cool. If you could give your younger self any piece of advice, what would it be? Lisa Hopper: I think it would be to have more fun. I was such a serious student. I thought I had to be the valedictorian. I had to have all A's. Except my husband likes to rub it in, because my husband was in my class in high school that I made a B in driver's ed, my only B in high school. And he was in my driver's ed car, so he still gives me a hard time about my driving, but... Timothy Webb: Did he get an A? Lisa Hopper: He did. Timothy Webb: Oh, that makes it even worse. Lisa Hopper: So then he rubs it in. But I think it would be to have more fun. It really doesn't matter. People don't go back and look at those transcripts. They don't look to see how many Bs you had. So I think I would tell my younger self to relax a little bit, have a little more fun. Don't be quite so serious. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Because you don't get these memories back. You don't get these moments back. And that's something I tell myself all the time. I'm like, do the best with this moment. Because once it's gone, it's gone. Lisa Hopper: That's right. That's right. Timothy Webb: So what brought you to National Park College? Lisa Hopper: It's kind of funny. Never say never. When I worked in the business office at Rich Mountain, we had a financial aid audit. Four feds from Dallas showed up unannounced, and we went through quite an ordeal there. And I remember saying I would never work in financial aid. So I worked on my masters, didn't really have a place there to move up. And one of my friends there said, "Did you see where they had this vice president of finance position open at?" Then it was Garland County Community College. So I applied, the finance was filled by the financial aid director, and then they called me and said, 'We want to interview you for the financial aid position." I was like, "Oh no. The one thing I said I would never do." But I wanted to move up and I wanted to have a better way of life for my family. It was back then a huge raise for me, and I was kind of stuck where I was. And so I talked to the new financial aid director, and I said, "What do I do?" And she said, "Try it. You're a people person. You do numbers, you'll like it." And so I interviewed and Dr. Tom Spencer and Ron Garner and Janice Sawyer, they all interviewed me and offered me the job. And I said, "Are you sure..." Remember I'm the one that's never done financial aid before. And they said, "It's too late now. You can't back out. We've already offered you the job." Timothy Webb: We got you. Lisa Hopper: We got you. And they've had me for a while. Timothy Webb: So you're getting close to retirement, huh? Lisa Hopper: I am. I'm looking at it in June, which is kind of scary and kind of exciting all at the same time. Timothy Webb: Yeah, I can only imagine. I got about 25 more years to go. Other than National Park and financial aid, what are some of your hobbies? Lisa Hopper: I love to travel. I mentioned before I've been blessed enough to go to 45 of the states. I've been to France, Italy, Spain and Greece, and this May, before I retire, I'm going to go on a cruise around the British Isles. We're going to go to England and Scotland and Ireland. Timothy Webb: Nice. Lisa Hopper: I love traveling. I love reading. I also do quilting and crocheting and things that I learned from my mom. The older I get, the more like my mom I think I'm becoming. Timothy Webb: Yeah, I'm afraid that's all of our fates, isn't it? Lisa Hopper: Yeah, I think so. Timothy Webb: What is it about traveling that you like so much? Lisa Hopper: I really like history, especially American, but I like world history, and so just seeing all the architecture, the beautiful buildings and the people that I meet along the way. I watch travel shows on TV. It's just all about those experiences and wanting to see all those things. Timothy Webb: If you could talk to anyone from the past, present, or future, who would it be and why? Lisa Hopper: I think it would be my dad, because I was so little when he passed. I would like to know the person he was as an adult, have a conversation with him. I've started doing ancestry and I sent in my DNA and I found out I was 37% Scottish. And so I said, "Maybe that's why I've always wanted to see those castles." But I really gotten into my ancestry lately and going back lots of generations found where my family was related to the Vikings. This great great grandmother was in a workhouse in England. So I think I would want to talk to my dad and just get to know him. Timothy Webb: So Lisa, what are your future plans? Lisa Hopper: Well, the retirement in June, and I say retirement, but anybody that knows me says, "You're not really going to retire because you can't sit still that long." So I've actually signed up to do some consulting remotely. There's a group with the National Financial Aid Association that has a consulting arm off of that so I can help colleges with projects and things. I love teaching accounting, so I hope to either be an adjunct or maybe even circle back after my retirement required period, circle back and teach accounting full-time. And I have that new grandbaby coming in March, so I hope to get to... I've never got to stay home with my kids or my grandkids. And so I'd love to have that experience of getting to be that nana that gets to rock the baby and be home and help the kids take care of their kids. Timothy Webb: Oh yeah. And we all need that. Luckily for me, my dad retired last year. In the summers we were like, "What are we going to do?" And so you got that option now. Lisa Hopper: That grandparent to fall back on. So I want to be that Nana. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Is there any quotes or mottoes that you'd like to leave our listeners with? Lisa Hopper: One of my favorite all-time movies is Field of Dreams, and there's so many great quotes and things in that movie. There's a guy on that show, Archibald Moonlight Graham, and he's the baseball player that made it up to the big leagues and never got to bat. So in Field of Dreams, he wants to go and bat one time against the Major League team. And so he has a quote in there, and I'm going to read it so I don't mess it up. It says, "You know, we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day." And this guy, he played in right field, bottom of the ninth inning, he came up, was on deck, and the guy in front of him got the third out and he never got to bat. And that's kind of my advice to people is make everyday count. You never know if you have a tomorrow. So make sure you smile those smiles and give those people a good day and tell the people you love, that you love them and make everyday count. Timothy Webb: Wow. That's so true and great advice. And what a great movie. Lisa Hopper: Yeah. One of our favorites. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Lisa Hopper, thank you so much for sitting down with me today on Elevate. We really appreciate it. It was wonderful talking to you. Lisa Hopper: You too. Thank you so much. Timothy Webb: Thank you. Thanks to all of you for listening to Elevate today from the Razorback Camper Sales Studio. New episodes are released each Thursday. Special thanks to National Park College and the Sentinel-Record for making this podcast possible. Until next time, this is Timothy Webb reminding you that every day is a chance to elevate.