8 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019 Hello, IBA members. I am happy to be here as the newest member of the IBA team. I joined the Association in April as administrative assistant. My hours are part-time, but I feel fully embraced by my coworkers and IBA members. As administrative assistant, I provide customer service and administrative support, including database updates, supply ordering, reports and deposits. I have nearly 10 years of administrative and customer service experience, most recently serving as executive administrative assistant at a computer recycling company. My main IBA focus, though, is on customer service. I am the receptionist in the lobby who greets you when you walk in the front door, and the person who answers the phone when you call. I enjoy this welcoming role. The best training in customer service came when I worked in a doctor’s office. It’s challenging work, because people who are sick are not always nice. I learned to treat them with extra patience, no matter what. I also learned that empathy, professionalism, teamwork and communication is a formula that works for me. Communication is very important, and the IBA is really good at it. Everyone here is friendly and approachable, and I can tell that my coworkers care about our members and each other. We have well-run staff meetings that keep us updated, and everyone brings their own voices and experiences. Most of the staff have been here a long time – 10, 20, even 30 years. That’s a good thing, but it can be intimidating for a new employee. When I joined, I knew I had big shoes to fill. What helped was that I had great training. I worked closely with Michelle Long, who had been at the lobby desk, and also received very good guidance from Paul Freeman. The IBA is like a family, and that’s important to me. I come from a big family in Mount Prospect, Illinois, about 40 minutes from Chicago. I have three brothers and a sister. My parents came to the United States from Mexico, and they set an example for their children of hard work and sacrifice. My father always worked hard to support us, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom who worked just as hard. We are a close family, and we had a lot of fun together growing up. I remember going to parks and having picnics. On Sundays we’d go out to dinner after church. It was a wonderful childhood. My parents taught us many life lessons. Education was of great significance in our home, so I had the opportunity to attend Everest College. Language was key, so we all became bilingual in English and Spanish. Most importantly, my parents taught me that failure is often necessary in order to learn and succeed. There were times when I was scared to try something new, but my parents would encourage me to take risks. They also allowed me to make my own decisions. Taking a risk is always better than not trying, and failure is just a time out. That lesson has helped me in every aspect of life. It allows me to enjoy my victories more, because I know how hard I’ve worked. This lesson definitely helped about five years ago when my husband, Edgar, and I decided to move to Indiana. We fell in love with Indiana after visiting his mother, who lives nearby. My husband is a business technician for Comcast, which has a lot of locations, so it was an easy transfer. The hard part was leaving family in Illinois, but my dad said, “Changes are always good.” He told me it’s important to adapt and that the move would be good for my children. My father is always telling me that I can do anything. Sometimes I think he has too much confidence in me! My mother was worried that we’d be too far away. But we talk on the phone every day, and now she loves it when she comes to visit. My husband and I have three children, and everything I do outside of work involves them. Our oldest daughter Delilah is nine, our son Milo just turned five, and Kayla is three. Delilah is active in school, which keeps us busy. I also volunteer at the day care that our younger two attend, organizing dances and other activities. And there are children’s sports throughout the year. For family activities, we go different places like the Children’s Museum or the zoo. This past summer we discovered Eagle Creek Park and learned that our son is a patient little fisherman. Balancing work and family is busy, but worth every minute of it. (Coffee helps a lot.) So thank you for the opportunity to be here. I am fortunate to have a happy family at home, a supportive family in Illinois, and a job that I enjoy very much. The next time you come to the IBA offices, please stop by the front desk. I look forward to meeting you. HB Wendy Colin Administrative Assistant Indiana Bankers Association wcolin@indianabankers.org STAFF SELECTION Bank Security Conference: Cyber, Fraud, Physical Diverse departments collaborate at this inaugural event to develop maximum security effectiveness. Click on the icon in HB Digital for more information, or go to: indianabankers.org/calendar-of-events Carmel OCT. 12
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