Natalie Adkins
Associate Professor of Marketing

What do you do?
I teach principles of marketing and direct and interactive marketing, because that’s where my experience was in before I started teaching—I have a Ph.D. in consumer behavior. I also teach Creating Customer Value in the MBA program.

What is one non-marketing thing you try to teach your students?
It goes back to why I came to Drake—it’s hard to do your best work if you’re not happy. We don’t pay enough attention to being happy and well and what that does to the day-to-day of your career and your life.

The thing I like to tell students is that people always talk about passion, and it’s not so much about passion—I mean, you have to have that interest—but passion is blind, if it’s all emotion, then that can get you into trouble. The passion has to be constrained. In the end you have to be happy over the long run through ups and downs. If you can find that, you’ll be a successful person.

You’re a big sports fan—who do you cheer for?
I am a loyal West Virginia Mountaineer and Virginia Tech Hokie because that’s where I earned my undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively. I love college football and basketball. I also grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, where events from the movie We are Marshall took place. So growing up in that community, I always cheer for Marshall. I also always cheer for Drake no matter what we’re playing. I love supporting my students and my institution by being a fan.