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Harleigh Duplantis always knew she would do great in accounting, but UL Lafayette’s program helped her discover her passion for business.

“I initially chose accounting because growing up, in middle school, we had those ability tests and they would give you an area you should go to school for,” she says. “Being so logically thinking and excelling in math, I would always get accounting as a result from those tests. 

“But as I took classes, I realized that I have always had a business mind,” she says. “I like to think about the overall picture of a company versus just my view as a customer or employee.”

As Harleigh Duplantis made her way through the accounting program, she was already training for her career.

 “I started with Courtesy Automotive Group Inc. as a part-time receptionist in 2012 when I started my undergrad and was immediately promoted to my current full-time position upon graduation in 2016,” she says.

“I currently am a payroll administrator and HR generalist for Courtesy Automotive Group,” she says. 

Harleigh handles the payroll for over 200 employees as well as on-boarding paperwork and personal data from garnishments, insurance benefits, 401k submissions, paid time off, and more.

Harleigh works hard to continue growing and working her way up the company ladder.

“My long-term careers goals are to get as far up with a company as I can,” she says. “I hope to be a controller or CFO in the next 10 to 15 years.”

One way Harleigh is doing this is by earning her Master of Business Administration (MBA) online at UL Lafayette.

“Not being on our beautiful campus is upsetting but being able to work full-time while attending classes is worth it,” she says. “As a graduate student, you are making business connections more.”

In both her bachelor’s and MBA program, Harleigh loves the passion her professors bring to their courses.

“When you are learning from someone who enjoys what they do and know about, it is motivating and encouraging,” she says.

Harleigh’s entire college journey started when she was just an eighth grader visiting her brother.

“I fell in love with UL Lafayette the second I visited with my family,” she says. “I was only in the eighth grade at the time and still just knew. 

“This university and city has become a home to me in no time, and I have no intentions of ever leaving it,” she says.