Lynchburg News
Campus News & Events
An Army of One
Lynchburg Campus graduate Melinda Dowdy, who completed her associate degree program in business administration—accounting last November, is a very successful branch manager for H&R Block tax service. Unlike many of her fellow branch managers, though, Melinda is just one of two in her region who is a “solo act” – running her own branch by herself.
"If anything goes wrong, it’s my fault,” she says with a wry smile. But that doesn’t faze her: “I like responsibility.” That would be an understatement, for Melinda has thrived, reaching 400% over her target for last year’s tax season.
“You have to be willing to go around…and ‘meet and greet’,” she explains. “You can’t be shy in this business, because you’re not going to get the clientele to come in.”
Melinda, who has worked for H&R Block the past five years, studied accounting because it was a logical fit for the work she was in (“I like numbers,” she admits). She chose National over other local colleges because of the supportive environment, particularly the small class sizes. “Hopefully, this [campus] will get the bachelor’s in accounting, and I will go back and finish my bachelor’s,” she adds.
As Melinda readies for another approaching tax season, look for her in her home town of Alta Vista out “meeting and greeting” as her own tax preparation “Army of One.”
