Parker-Anderson Enrichment Franchisee - Laurelinda Hauksson

I was first introduced to Parker-Anderson through my husband, Niels. It was the summer we met, 2012, and he was working as an instructor teaching mainly science courses, his specialty. I remember him telling me how much he enjoyed working with Jamie and Josh and how much he was discovering his passion for teaching science. A year later, when we moved to Orange County, Niels' schedule didn't allow him to continue teaching with the Orange County branch. 

However, at the time, I was looking for a job in that area so I turned to Parker-Anderson. Starting as an instructor gave me valuable experience teaching most of the classes from the list of offerings. I started out teaching mainly chess classes. At first, I was a bit nervous because my only experience with chess was when I had played with my father when I was little. However, when I started going through the extensive curriculum detailing the ins and outs of the game, complete with strategies and teaching tips, I started to feel more comfortable teaching the classes. Reflecting back on that time, I think one of the best experiences was how teaching from the provided curriculum helped me become a better chess player and as my confidence in the game grew, I became a more confident instructor. Before I knew it, I had the opportunity to teach most of the classes Parker-Anderson has to offer including Lego Robotics, Iron Chef Cooking Fun, Creative Sculpture, Marine Biology, DinoWorld, and many more. 

I, like my husband, enjoyed working as an instructor and being part of the Parker-Anderson team. So when the previous Orange County director left and Josh and Jamie offered me the director position, I immediately accepted. And when Parker-Anderson started looking towards franchising, I knew that I wanted to invest more of myself into the company by purchasing the Orange County branch as a franchise. 

My time as the Orange County director and now as a franchise owner has given me valuable experiences including teaching, creating extended curriculum for longer summer programs, working with various schools and city recreation departments, handling finances – basically -- managing a thriving business from A to Z. One of the most exciting parts of owning this franchise is watching it grow as more schools hear about our programs and the wide variety of courses we offer. This is a huge selling point for many school coordinators who are tired of managing multiple vendors and would prefer to work with one company that has it all. Being able to offer classes in multiple categories such as technology, art, science, dance, and robotics, however, is only one of the many benefits of a Parker-Anderson franchise. Our website is designed to handle enrollments, generate rosters, flyers, invoices, and schedules, manage instructor information, and keep track of inventory.

But perhaps the best benefit of a Parker-Anderson franchise is the 25 plus years of experience in after school enrichment that Jamie and Josh bring to the table. Not only have they been incredibly supportive throughout the business-owned to franchise transition, my passion for what Parker-Anderson does has increased tenfold. Getting to work with schools offering much needed programs after school and during summer has been incredibly rewarding both mentally and financially. My husband and I are honored to be Parker-Anderson's first franchisees and look forward to many wonderful years to come.