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Yeah, it's really a discipline. I think it's putting in the work. It's putting in the energy. It's putting in the effort. It's never giving up, never quitting. Um there's going to be challenges. There's going to be setbacks. Um not everything's going to be easy. Hello, Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I am your host, Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will

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encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College, you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment of the show I like to call Did You Know? Where we will share some fun facts about Manor College that you may or may not know. Did you know that Manor College recently has celebrated a major milestone at its May commencement? For the first time in college history, Manor graduated a full class of 4-year bachelor degree students from our psychology program, marking a

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new chapter in its growth as a destination for students seeking a complete college experience close to home. These graduates are the first to start and finish the psychology program from day one, earning their bachelor degree after the college has expanded its academic offerings just a few years ago. It's a powerful moment that reflects not only the evolution of Manor College, but also the determination of our students, many of whom balance work, family, school, proving that opportunity and achievement can go hand in hand right

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here in our community. Today's episode is sponsored by the Manor College Bachelor Degree in Psychology. Are you ready to make a difference? At Manor College, our bachelor's degree in psychology prepares you for a career in social services and counseling. With flexible classes and a personalized attention, all at a low cost tuition, we'll help you unlock the full potential that you have within yourself. Build a meaningful career. Earn your bachelor's in psychology at Manor College. Visit

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manor.edu to learn more. Today's guest is a perfect example of how a strong foundation can lead to a lifetime of professional success. Growing up in Huntington Valley and attending La Salle College High School, he brought a sharp mind and a spirit of service to Manor College campus in the late 90s. During his time at Manor, he was a fixture in student life, serving in campus ministry and achieving academic excellence as a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He credits much of his personal growth to

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the impact of dedicated faculty members who helped guide him to earn an associates degree in psychology in 1998. But his journey didn't stop there. Demonstrating the grid of a lifelong learner, he transitioned into the world of commerce, attending night school at Holy Family University to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration. Today, he takes that same dedication to service and applies it to the financial world, helping people secure their futures as a retirement plan advisor

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with Empower Financial Services. Please welcome Manor College alumni from the class of 98, Joe Hayes. Hi, Joe. >> Hello. Hello. I'm happy to be here. Thank you for having me. >> Yes. Happy to have you on. So, so Joe, you're a Huntington Valley local person. Did you always know you wanted to stay local for college and what about Manor kind of like fit for you when you were looking for higher education? >> Very good question. So yeah, I mean um I learned about Manor through a family

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member. So from uh from really good word of mouth and from hearing from family member, I heard great things about Manor and that's what got me interested in it. you know, growing up in a Catholic family, you know, um with with with that background, uh family of six, Irish Catholic family. Um you know, I just uh went to, you know, Catholic high school and I was, you know, happy to stay in the area and stay local. Uh honestly, when I started, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I didn't know what

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my exact field of study was going to be, but I was excited to join Manor when I did, and I'm proud to call myself an alum. >> Oh, that's great. I didn't realize you're uh one of six. That's where do you land in the one of six? Which number are you? >> Right in the middle. >> Okay. >> Okay, that's cool. Um that's really neat. It definitely having that like family around you. Um probably made staying staying local for college a little bit easier of a transition going

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from high school to college and that kind of that kind of setting. So you started out in psychology, but now you are a retirement plan advisor. So does that mean that like half of your job is basically being a therapist for people who are stressed out about their money? How did that how do those things translate together and kind of tell us the thread that took you from psychology to working in financial services? >> Definitely. Yeah. Well, um, when I wrapped up at Manor in psychology, uh,

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with that field of study, I initially worked for a company that actually helped, um, traumatic brain injured adults. That was my role as a, as like a social worker, like a client care worker, was I helped adults that were injured with traumatic brain injury. Um, eventually I actually came back to Manor and I worked in the alumni and development office for a little bit. Um eventually I decided that I wanted to go back and pursue my four-year degree, my business degree, and I decided to take my studies to Holy Family University. Um

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around that time, that's when I actually started changing gears in my in my career and I learned about financial services again through some family and some friends. Uh got my foot in the door with a financial company as a customer service representative and you know, I took advantage of the benefits from that company. I actually took advantage of their tuition reimbursement program which was awesome and it helped me pay for my college for uh night school to finish up my bachelor's. Um that was the

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start of my journey in my career in financial services was getting my feet wet in customer service working in the call center. But that's where I laid my roots in financial services and um it was a great experience. It taught me a lot about helping people, being patient, solving problems. uh people come to you for help and we say we we're you know we wear many hats and we do you know in in the role we do we wear many hats helping people with different different life situations and financial matters.

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>> Yeah I'm sure and I think starting in customer service kind of like in any industry whether it's like sports starting in ticket sales you know kind of you learn a lot and it kind of like is your um you know introduction to an industry. That's really cool to hear that that was kind of your introduction. What was it like for you kind of grinding it out at Holy Family in night school while working um you know working full-time and trying to pivot careers. What was that like for you?

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>> It it was tough. I mean I have to admit it was it had its challenges because that at that time I was just starting to raise a family. I just had my first son at the time and you know raising a family and you know working and doing all of that it was a juggle. It was a sacrifice, but I think looking back on it, it was all well worth it. It was really a matter of balancing time. Um, because there's only so many hours in the day for you to do things and you just have to make make use of each hour

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and each minute that you've got to make the best of the day and get the tasks accomplished that you've got to get done. That's what's worked for me. When I made when I made my commitment to go to school and finish up, I just listed out my courses one by one and then I would check them off as I finished them. And that was a feeling of you know accomplishment and satisfaction and helped me you know feel a sense of um you know satisfaction you know getting closer and closer to that goal of

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finishing the degree. >> Nothing like a good checklist to keep you keep you going there and you know having a young family and oh my goodness that is that is a lot a lot to do but looking back on that you're like okay I'm glad I did it. I'm glad it's over. You know I don't have to do that again. But that's certainly, you know, a lot of our students today, um, we just got new survey data in actually just a few weeks ago and 40% of our Manor College students are primary caregivers. So

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either they are raising their own families or they are taking care of siblings or parents or grandparents. So that's a really common culture we find here at Manor that so many of our students are taking care of families and school is just not the number one priority because it just can't be. They have to, you know, take care of other people. So that's something that we constantly are trying to think about. How can we support our students more through services and different resources

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who are in those situations. So that's very that's good to hear that you kind of understand and can identify with that. For sure. Um let's talk about kind of when you were at Manor any faculty who really left a mark on you who really impacted you. Was there any particular faculty that come to mind or any specific memories or moments of things that just kind of clicked? >> Great memories, great moments. I mean it was a little while back going back to when I went to Manor back in the 90s,

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but my memory does not does not fade away. Um I really appreciated working with um Jackie Theresa Meyers who was actually I worked with Jackie in the campus ministry um part of Manor. You know we would have services. We had a group that would meet um I played guitar and we actually met in the chapel there and um Jackie had a good influence on me uh with her you know I would call it mentorship. She helped me through the journey of going through college and being involved in my spiritual life. And

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uh I'll never forget that, you know, working with Jackie, Sister Francis as well. Uh Sister Francis was very um active and just a great presence at Manor College. I hope she's still working there and doing well, but um she was also very instrumental in my in my time at Manor. >> Yes. Yes. Jack Jackie was great. And Sister Francis, she's no longer working at the college. She is, I would say, retired and she's still obviously she's um over at the convent next door. in the

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mother house with the sisters of St. Basil the Great and we check on her often and hear hear how she's doing. So, it's always good to hear about Sister Francis. >> Fantastic. I'm glad she's doing well. >> So, so Joe, let's talk a little bit about um your role and your career in retirement planning. Um, I'd like to ask this question to some of our guests, particularly ones who work in the financial world, but what's like um a myth about your role or your job in

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retirement planning that people think like, oh, he must do this all day all day all day long or he must, you know, um, but it's really a myth. What's a myth that you want to kind of debunk for us? >> I think sometimes people get the impression that folks in in my position, we're numbers crunchers. We're on calculators. we're, you know, doing a lot of, you know, that deep in the weeds work and that sometimes we have the crystal ball and have all the answers to what's going on with the with the stock

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market. And um, you know, that's a common myth. You know, we don't we don't have all the answers. We don't have the crystal ball. Um, one thing that I think is important to address is that in in my field, and I think this is important for folks um, as they finish school, is that I think life, you know, education is a lifelong experience. It's not something that ever goes away. I think when no matter what our roles are, uh we want to stay fresh, we want to stay up to speed, and we want to

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continue learning and adapting and navigating as things change over time because in all businesses, things are constantly evolving. And I think staying on top of education in whatever capacity folks are in, I think that's important. And that's been an important part of my role in what I do is I continue education uh each year and um try to stay on top of what's going on out there so I can be the best that I can be in my role helping people. >> Yeah. So not all number crunchers, more

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relationship based I'd imagine and and more kind of going back to your early days customer service. A lot of probably just chatting, listening, understanding people and where they are and then trying to find solutions for them that that work best for them. That's really neat. So, what's like a most common mistake that you see people making with their retirement planning? And is it ever too late to fix it? >> It's never too late to fix it. I think, you know, um you know, sometimes folks

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get to the the planning process late in the game. Um I think naturally we can be procrastinators as humans. You know, we push things off and we don't worry about things until we feel like we need to worry about those things. And I think time is of the essence. I think time is something that we hold as precious and we can't get back. Lost time. So the common thing I see folks sometimes get into is they'll wait until very late to start planning and putting together a strategy and starting to save money for

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whatever life brings. Whether it's, you know, saving for kids for college, whether it's planning for retirement, whether it's saving for emergencies. Um it's something I think it's important to put those things in place early and often. Um, and I try to influence my kids in terms of sharing those lessons that I've learned in life's journey to start things early. You start a job, take advantage of your company's benefits. Look at the benefits that are available to you, the savings plans, the

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retirement savings plans, things of that nature, and take advantage of them, you know, because when you start saving and paying yourself first, um, that's where the rubber hits the road and helps you in the long run. And my whole thing is when things come out of my paycheck and go towards certain things like savings and retirement, it's out of sight and it's out of mind and I'm paying myself first and I pretend that it's not even there because if it lands in my paycheck, if it comes out of my paycheck

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and lands in my bank account, I'm guilty as charged. I'm going to spend that money. I'm going to find something to spend it on. Whether that be ice cream, a night out, a vacation, uh a a gaming system for my house here. Uh but you know it's all a balancing act. I think it's all a balancing act. You want to find that balance of uh enjoying your life now but also preparing for your future. There's nothing like compound interest working for 20 30 40 years opposed to working for only 10 or five

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or something. So obviously that's a huge thing. I know a lot of our students when they're finding their first jobs, you know, they don't put any money into the retirement plans because they just want the full check that, you know, maybe they're paying off loans and and different things like that or, you know, a car payment, but it does even if you can just do the company match, just do the match for a number of years, you know, that's really helpful. That's great to hear. Um that, you know, it's

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balanced and it's never too late because sometimes I think people think with retirement like, well, what's the point now, you know? Um, that's good to hear. So, Joe, looking back at the class of 98 version of yourself, what's one thing that you now know about success that you wish you could have told yourself back then? >> It's it's really a discipline. I think it's putting in the work. It's putting in the energy. It's putting in the effort. It's never giving up, never

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quitting. Um, there's going to be challenges. There's going to be setbacks. Um, not everything's going to be easy. there's going to be classes that you take in your studies and in school that are harder than other classes. And I think looking back, it's just trying to, you know, when you run into that, keep grinding it out. You know, work with, you know, your your your uh your classmates, work with your professor, uh work with those folks that, you know, are very smart in that

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field that can help you through that process um to work it out. You know, you're not alone. There's the one thing I would say is don't ever be afraid to ask questions. Um don't ever feel afraid to ask for help because there's people that are out there that are there to help you. And I've never had people reject me or say no, I can't help you. It's either they help me or if they can't they point me in the direction of somebody else that can. >> So uh you're never alone. And uh that

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that's one of the experiences that I always take from manor is that I always felt part of the family and I still feel part of the family as an alum that uh it's just it's a great community and there's a great network of people to help you out no matter what you're dealing with even if it's personal matters if you if you have someone that you can talk to to talk through personal stuff you're going through. >> Yeah. >> It's always good to talk to somebody.

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>> Absolutely. you know, um, a couple weeks ago, I was shopping in my local Costco with my kids and, um, I was in total mom mode. You know, it was a it was after work hours. I think it was a Thursday night and have the big shopping cart with my my two two of my kids were in the cart and um, I'm walking past the AT&T like sales guy and you know, they try to like, oh, do you want to switch over? And I just, you know, politely, no, no, thank you. And then I double take and it's it's a Manor

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student. this student named Jacob. And I was like, "Jacob?" And he was like, "Hey, Kelly." And I was like, "Hey." And I was like, "I didn't know you work here." And we chit-chated for a while. And he's graduating this year. And just in that little conversation we had, um, Jacob said like, "Oh, I'm so sad to leave Manor. I love it. There people are so helpful. People, they've always helped me. They support me." And it was just so sweet to hear that. Um, that was

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kind of the first just he wasn't in a focus group. It wasn't like a survey, you know, it was just a normal conversation we were having and the words that came out were Manor has always been helpful and supportive of of anything that I've done. And it was just so great to hear that and so great to hear that, you know, you are a graduate from 98, you know, almost 30 years ago and those words still ring true. So, it's really good to hear that we've been consistent in like who we are and how we

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serve students for for that long. So, it's always really reassuring to hear that. Absolutely. Absolutely. 100%. >> So Joe, final question here. What advice would you give to Manor College students today? >> Enjoy the journey. Enjoy every bit of it. Soak it up and enjoy the the culture, the community, the uh the collaboration you have with your your fellow students and the and the and the uh staff there and and the teachers. Um take advantage of the programs that are

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available to you. uh take advantage of the different clubs and associations that are available. Uh don't hesitate to get involved. There's a lot of great things to get involved in that you could get a good experience in and learn from. You build great relationships and it helps I think prepare yourself and shape yourself up for your future. Um and just don't be afraid to, you know, get that experience and get the get the work under your belt to um to develop. And uh don't like I said, don't ever be afraid

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to ask for help because it's always there, you know, hop skip and a trot away for when you need it. >> Yeah, definitely get involved, talk to people. Um don't be shy, you know, step out of your shell. Those are that's great advice, Joe. Thank you so much for that. And Joe, thank you so much for spending time with us. I I always love talking to alumni and particularly I love talking to alumni who are out in the world making a change and making a difference. And you know the mission of

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us is to graduate and educate students to be compassionate people of society. Um that's in our mission statement and I feel like you are a a good living embodiment of that mission. So thank you for the work that you're doing and continue to do and we wish you nothing but the best. >> Thank you so much. Thank you for having me here and uh go Manor. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up tod date with all new episodes by

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following Manor College on Instagram, Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest, stories about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here always.