Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

Media Credit: Whitney Buster

Hearing the roar of the bike and feeling her hair blowing in the wind gives one NT professor the relief she needs to soar through most days.

Lisa Russell of the business management faculty holds the seat of a student, a mommy and, in her spare time, winds the roads on her 720 pound Harley hog.

She said she began riding horses and mini bikes at the age of 5.

"I was one of five sisters and we had a newspaper route, so we delivered on our bikes," she said.

Russell said she had her first experience with law enforcement when she received her first ticket at the age of 13.

Over the years she has owned more than eight makes and models of bikes and now revs a 1994 Limited Edition Harley Davidson FLSTN. As a Harley rider she has always been a part of a family, she said.

"Being a Harley rider is a following and is a culture of people who share the same love," she said. "The funny thing about Harley riders is that you ride with people who are doctors, outlaws or Hell's Angels all riding together."

Riding her Harley, Russell said she wants riding to be a family tradition.

"My daughter rides, and I certainly hope this is a passion me and her use to connect," she said.

In her entrepreneurship class, Russell drags in her Harley paraphernalia to discuss the business dream of a couple of good men.

"Talking about the Harley Davidson Company puts business in perspective," she said.

Russell received her BBA in marketing and an MBA in international business from The University of Louisiana at Monroe. After leaving the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as a deputy sheriff, she said she knew she wanted to pursue her Ph.D.

"I do it all for Dakota, my daughter, and for her to be able to say 'my mom rocks,'" she said.

NT alumna Christian Hobbsa said when she took Russell's class, she felt Russell was an inspiration to any woman.

"For me, as a single mother and business owner, it was very refreshing to see her take on so much," Hobbs said.

Russell said while at NT she has funneled her energy into the classroom.

"As an instructor it's all about giving a piece of yourself to another," she said.

She has been married for nearly 21 years, and her husband, Ben, who is a hair stylist and serves as Mr. Mom, has stood by her over the years.

"He is extremely supportive, and for him to leave the business owner lifestyle to a full-time daddy shows it," she said.

They are both members of the local American Eagle Harley Davidson group, but Lisa Russell said she's missed out lately because of her course demand.

She said she has had to sacrifice spending time with those in her life in order to complete her education.

"It's funny because as a deputy sheriff, there are tremendous challenges, especially physical challenges, and here the challenge is time management," she said.

Russell said she is studying for her compositions in May and will move into the dissertation phase of the doctorate program with a $25,000 research grant next year, but when she is on her Harley the stress of life leaves her.

"When you ride it is pure adrenaline," she said, "and the rush helps you fight the demands in life."

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