Her Story
About Audra
I've been in my current role with our tech company since 2008, and it goes by fast when you love what you do. I'm currently an operations administrator at Harper Technologies, our family-owned tech company headquartered in Mobile. After graduating from University of West Florida in 2005 with a business degree, I worked in entry-level management and then banking, specifically credit lending at a financial institution, which I didn't care for. My husband and his brother had started the company back in 2004 as a small mom-and-pop break-fix tech company. Since I absolutely did not like my banking job, I decided to come aboard Harper Tech and help out where I could. It worked out that my educational background was already in business, so I came aboard, contributed where I could, and 18 years later I'm still part of growing the company into a highly successful MSP. My main area of expertise is financial management - I handle budgeting and contract management, company budgeting and planning, HR oversight, and financial analysis. There are a lot of touch points for me within the company. What I love about my role is that it allows me the flexibility to do civic engagement and community engagement work, which I equally enjoy. I feel really blessed about what I get to do on a daily basis.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Audra
01What do you attribute your success to?
Now that I'm older and I can look back, I think it's a couple things, actually. The boldness to take advantage of opportunities presented to me, even if I was fearful or hesitant. The courage to show up in rooms that I'd been invited to, and meet people. And then surrounding myself with people who are inspiring to me. I got the Influential Women email, and I immediately started thinking about women that I know and that I surround myself with, who are what I would consider influential women - women who've started nonprofits, women who are minorities in their fields but thrive. I think just surrounding myself with people who I'm inspired by encourages me to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to me, and do my best, and be confident in the value that I bring in whatever room I step foot in.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Probably, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. When I mentor younger people, younger professionals, or students starting out who don't quite know what they want to do in life, my first question is, what do you enjoy? What do you like doing, or what are you passionate about? And if you don't know, then try different things until you find that. Being able to turn something you love doing into a career is such a blessing and is something that I've been able to do. So I think that is meaningful.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I understand that when I step into rooms, regardless of who's in the room, I strive to be the same person in every room I step into, and I'm confident in who I am. When I tell younger professionals that they can be who they are, and if they show up with kindness and professionalism in every room, people will see that and people will respond to that. What's rare in our world today is not so much the titles or even the education - it's how you show up, and how you make people feel when you show up. If you show up with a sense of humility and kindness and boldness, then the opportunities will come, and the accolades will come.
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