Jennifer West is a Junior Mortgage Loan Officer at Bank of Bozeman. She has led a life of service to her country, family, community, and workplace. Her service and accomplishments were recently recognized by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, and she was honored as a recipient of their annual 20 Under 40 Award.
At Bank of Bozeman, we feel a sense of pride and appreciation to have an employee who exemplifies such high character and prioritizes community involvement. We asked Jennifer a few questions in an effort to learn more about what motivates her professional and personal decisions that have led her to this place in her life.
The answers below have been edited for brevity and clarity.
How did you find yourself in the mortgage business?
I entered the banking industry in 2008 as a teller and discovered that I truly enjoy the customer aspect that banking provides. I had a desire to expand my knowledge beyond the teller line while still remaining in the banking industry. At the bank and at networking events, I would hear people discussing the mortgage and real estate market in the area, and it piqued my curiosity about the mortgage business. When the opportunity to become a Junior Mortgage Loan Officer presented itself, I jumped at the opportunity. I felt that this chance to gain that new knowledge would benefit not only myself, but many others as well. Buying a home can be a very stressful experience sometimes, and I hope that I can help to alleviate some of that stress for my clients. I have found that I really enjoy helping people successfully navigate through the mortgage loan process.
What inspires you to work your hardest every day?
The knowledge that I can make a difference in someone’s life has given me a wonderful sense of purpose, along with the incredible support that I receive from my family. This is what inspires me to work my hardest every day and to strive to be better than I was the day before. My hope is to continue making lifelong connections with not only my loan clients, but with others in our community as well.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment in life?
I enjoy helping people in any way that I am able to. The strong connections that I have been able to make in both the banking industry and the Bozeman community are something that I do not take for granted. I hope that by helping someone in any way that I can, that will help to set off a chain reaction of paying it forward to someone else.
Being such a successful businesswoman/ wife/ mother, how do you find work-life balance?
I find that sometimes it is necessary to focus on my inner work-life balance in order to achieve it in other parts of my life. While that process is invisible to others, I realize that it can impact everyone that I am in contact with on a daily basis. Making time to assess my perceptions and emotions helps me keep things organized and on track in both my professional and personal life. My family is a huge support system for me; the knowledge that both my husband and daughter have my back takes a lot of that weight off of my shoulders.
Jennifer is an excellent example of a team player, and we appreciate the hard work ethic and client care mentality that she brings every time she walks through the front doors of our Bank. Jennifer, we are so proud of the work that you do, and we are so happy to have you as a member of the Bank of Bozeman team!