{"id":339851,"date":"2026-06-17T14:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/339851\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:10:12","slug":"texas-tech-online-first-generation-student-gets-down-to-business-june-2026-texas-tech-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/339851\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Tech Online First-Generation Student Gets Down to Business | June 2026 | Texas Tech Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lesley Harris knew she could get more out of her career with a degree, but more than
\n that, she had a burning desire to finish what she had barely started.<\/p>\n

\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Lesley (Chapa) Harris\u2019 start to college wasn\u2019t exactly smooth. Even though it appeared
\n she had the perfect small-town West Texas high school experience \u2013 cheerleader, honor
\n society, tennis, saxophone player, and drum major \u2013 her family life had become tumultuous,
\n with her parents divorcing sometime around her sophomore year. Running away to college
\n in the big city of San Antonio to get away from it all \u2013 being young, just thinking
\n she knew better than everybody else \u2013 seemed like a good idea at the time to the first-generation
\n student.<\/p>\n

However, without a support system, the 18-year-old lasted one semester before she
\n returned home to some who were disappointed and had expected more from her. She expected
\n more from herself. That sting stayed with her, and she never lost the desire to get
\n that diploma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LesleyLesley shakes hands with Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec<\/p>\n

This May, after almost 20 years of feeling like she woulda, coulda, shoulda done more,
\n followed by an additional four years of quiet \u2013 almost hidden \u2013 determination, Lesley
\n crossed the stage summa cum laude with Texas Tech Online<\/a>\u2019s Bachelor of Business Administration in General Business<\/a> (OBBA) through the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business<\/a>. She graduated less than a week before turning 42, showing the world \u2013 and herself
\n \u2013 she really could achieve what she wanted all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hated it (not finishing),\u201d Lesley said with a mix of disappointment and anger.
\n \u201cIt always felt like everybody around me had a college degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like every situation or scenario that I was in, especially when it came to
\n the workplace, it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, where\u2019d you go to school?\u2019 They\u2019re not asking what
\n high school you went to, they want to know what university you graduated from, and
\n so I would just always pray that the subject would change before it got to me. Because
\n it was embarrassing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lesley\"LesleyLesley celebrates achieving her dream of earning her college degree.<\/p>\n

After returning home, Lesley went to work for her family-owned business, The Dixie
\n Dog, a successful restaurant in Tahoka at the time, just half an hour south of Lubbock.
\n She eventually got part-time administrative work with the City of Lubbock, leading
\n to full-time and then transferring to office work at the city\u2019s police academy. She
\n was making inroads into a career in business administration she didn\u2019t know she was
\n building. Another opportunity, at an insurance company, led Lesley to her adjuster\u2019s
\n license and doing worker\u2019s compensation, which took up more time in her life than
\n she was willing to give.<\/p>\n

Not only did she find another job \u2013 this time at a computer and IT services company
\n \u2013 she also met Scott Harris, whom she would later marry. Scott is a Red Raider, earning
\n both his bachelor\u2019s<\/a> and doctoral degrees in physics<\/a> from Texas Tech<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it was one more uncomfortable conversation about everyone\u2019s college experiences
\n that provoked the 38-year-old to make that one the very last.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working in the accounting department for an agriculture lender and insurance
\n company, and we had auditors in,\u201d Lesley recalled. \u201cWe went to lunch one day, and
\n everyone started talking about their college days. I had nothing to contribute, so
\n I just sat there, quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI came home that evening and told Scott it was time, and I started researching. Two
\n months later I was driving to South Plains College at Reese Center for my first day
\n of class.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lesley\"Lesley(left) Lesley and Scott; (right) Lesley with her brother, Gary, and her mom, Sylvia.<\/p>\n

As hopeful as she was, Lesley told no one. She didn\u2019t want something to go haywire
\n and disappoint herself or others again, so she waited. She continued to work full-time
\n and went to class.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until she enrolled at Texas Tech as a junior \u2013 now around 40 \u2013 that she
\n finally shared the news with family and others that she, in fact, was going to finish
\n her degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lesley loved working as an agent, but that wasn\u2019t enough for her. To her, insurance
\n was not just about selling, but more about educating the purchasers about policies
\n and training the agents selling them. She knew a business degree could open doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere really are not many places to move up unless you have a degree,\u201d Lesley explained.
\n \u201cAside from my personal desire to complete that, whether it’s HR or just managing
\n an agency, it would be a step up to working on the company instead of in the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd here I am, with a degree in business. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Frances Weatherly<\/p>\n

Mary Frances Weatherly<\/a> is an associate professor of practice in Marketing & Supply Chain Management<\/a> at the Rawls College and the OBBA faculty director. She had Lesley in two courses,
\n one of which was Lesley\u2019s favorite, MKT 4350 (Personal Selling).<\/p>\n

The class lessons were immediately applicable to Lesley\u2019s job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weatherly says many of the college\u2019s OBBA students are balancing careers, families
\n and community commitments while pursuing their degrees, and that for many, earning
\n a degree represents both the fulfillment of a long-term personal goal and a strategic
\n investment in their future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continually impressed by the perspective they bring to the classroom, Weatherly notes
\n their ability to connect what they\u2019re learning to their everyday work experiences.
\n She says students like Lesley embody that spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLesley maintained a 4.0 GPA while balancing the demands of a full-time career and
\n consistently produced thoughtful, high-quality work,\u201d Weatherly said. \u201cWhat made her
\n especially memorable was how much she valued feedback and took pride in doing her
\n best.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a last-minute challenge threatened a major role play assignment in my Marketing
\n 4350 course, she didn\u2019t let it derail her progress. Instead, she found a creative
\n solution, recruiting her husband to help complete the project after her assigned partner
\n withdrew. The fact that they recorded the assignment on their anniversary makes the
\n story even more memorable. It was a perfect example of the perseverance and problem-solving
\n mindset that contributed to her success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lesley(front row) Lesley with Scott, her mom and brother; (back row) Arthur (uncle, left)
\n and Aiden (nephew) right.<\/p>\n

Lesley says she never felt more accomplished than when she submitted her final assignments.
\n She remembers being \u201cscared to death\u201d when she first started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part about going back was starting,\u201d she said, exhaling heavily, seemingly
\n releasing the stress. \u201cThe very first day of classes I cried because I was terrified.
\n When I went to school in 2002, we still used pencil and paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having a Texas Tech advisor tell her, \u2018Absolutely, it\u2019s possible,\u2019 is all she needed.
\n That one little nudge, to say \u201cIt\u2019s OK, you\u2019ve got this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re thinking about going back to school, Texas Tech Online makes everything
\n as flexible as you need it to be,\u201d Lesley said, a bit teary-eyed. \u201cYou have people
\n who will support you. You have the resources that you need.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd at the end of the day, you\u2019re the one who\u2019s going to have the degree. You just
\n have to get there, show up and complete it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Texas Tech Online Bachelor of Business Administration in General
\n Business.<\/a><\/p>\n

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