Chelsi Quinn, Senior Central Mortgage Loan Representative at Marine Credit Union (MCU), covers the four states of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. Chelsi explained that her department helps members with home purchases and refinancing, debt consolidation and home lending. But … it doesn’t stop there. MCU goes beyond lending to educating. “We aren’t able to approve every member we talk to,” Chelsi explained. Depending on the specific scenario, members are offered financial counseling, credit score strategies and more.
Chelsi grew up in the Austin, MN area and graduated high school in Arcadia, WI. She started her college career studying psychology but changed to business after working in a bank while she was still in school. “I loved it. It made me happy,” she said and asked herself why she was going to school for psychology. “In my junior year, I asked, “Why am I doing this to myself?”
So, Chelsi changed her focus to business and said she was grateful, though, to have the background in human behavior because of working with members who don’t have the best credit scores. “There is a story to that,” she said of members who come to MCU. “Having that background helps me put myself in their shoes … to give them hope.”
She has worked at MCU for just over five years. MCU’s mission, at the time was “You are much more than a credit score. At US Bank,” Chelsi continued, “all we cared about was the number. We do a great job as a credit union, encompassing compassion.”
“A lot of times we can’t say yes … right now,” Chelsi continued. “We have compassion for what they have been through and understand that the members we are working with have been through some tough things. But we take the time to educate them and put them on a plan to get approved.”
The “biggest shift,” Chelsi shared that she has noticed since starting at MCU, was “really trying to create a journey for our members, not just a one-stop shop. We used to fill a need in that moment. Now there is such a big emphasis on the financial journey of the member – what they need now and a lot more.”
“We have an amazing team,” Chelsi continued. “We jive well together and want to see each other succeed. We share tips and tricks.” She added that “it has been a blast” to see how her centralized team has grown over the past couple of years.
Outside of work, Chelsi, her husband Jake and their two dogs Cleo and Emma (who she called her “little spoiled princess”) can be found ice fishing, or in the summer, out on their boat or camping. “We are very outdoorsy … hunt, fish, be outside with the fur babies,” she shared.
Working with members, Chelsi said, “We can’t always say yes.” But, she explained further that a “no” is more often a “not yet.”
“In my experience with larger financials,” Chelsi said those “no(s)” were not even getting a phone call … but a letter in the mail. “With MCU, we call and explain why. Emotions are involved. We treat people as people. We explain why ‘not now’ and take it one step further … what needs to happen and a timeline of when. Do X, Y, and Z. If you can get there,” she said that MCU can help. “It feels good as a lender. No one likes to get turned down. It’s a lot easier to turn someone down when you can put them on a plan.”
“The secret sauce,” Chelsi continued, “is about human nature. People remember how you made them feel. There are consequences about how they will feel. We can call and empower them. We can let them be heard and give them hope. I feel good about that.”
