For National Women's History Month, we're featuring four women who impact our credit union with their dedication and expertise. Below is a personal story from Miae Montanye.
My name is Miae Montanye and I am the Branch Manager of the TwinStar Credit Union Lakewood Branch. I came on board in 1996 with a mindset that it would be temporary until I got a position in my field of study, Marketing. I am the first in my family to graduate from college and earned my BBA, concentrating in Market Research.
There weren’t many jobs in my field so I came to the credit union to get my foot in the door and started as a teller. I discovered I loved interacting with people and it also helped me improve my native Korean language because the branch was located in an international district. I am a first generation immigrant at a young age so English is my predominant language. Now I am bi-lingual.
I love to learn so I gained more knowledge and was promoted to a Member Service Officer (MSO). I continually gained more knowledge and became a hybrid part-time Mortgage Loan Officer in conjunction with my main MSO job.
There was a difficult point in my personal life that forced me to seek other opportunities so I could self-support myself and my children. I was offered an Assistant Branch Manager position at a different local financial institution. They scouted me twice before for my customer service reputation in the community. I did not turn them down this time. I asked for one month’s time as I did not want to leave my current manager in a bind with her upcoming international trip had I only given my two weeks’ notice.
My manager informed her Division Manager of my notice. He worked with others in the organization, and in the end I was offered my manager’s job and she became Branch Manager at a new branch location. Although the other financial institution offered more pay, I decided to stay at the credit union because I felt like an indispensable, valued employee. Hard work does pay off.
I have been managing our Lakewood Branch since 2007. A few years ago our HR Director informed me that I had the most tenured staff in the organization, that turnover is rare. This is a testament to the open communication environment I’ve cultivated for years to build a cohesive team.
I recently celebrated my 25th year with the credit union. Although my current career didn’t align with my concentrated field of study, I love where I am. My favorite part of the job is interacting with members. Due to the pandemic temporary closure of my branch my interactions have shifted from in person to over the phone. Although I have enjoyed performing in another capacity, I miss seeing my people and members.
The most important aspect of my career that I learned is how wonderful TwinStar Credit Union is as an employer. They genuinely care for their employees and it showed during this pandemic. I truly made the right decision to stay all those years ago when I ultimately turned down the other financial institution's offer for a third time.