Circling it Back to Christen

Greetings from Carmel, Indiana! We are circling it back to Christen for this newsletter. It has been 4 years since we last caught up with her and she’s now been with Columbia for 15 years (but who’s counting anyways)! She continues to work remotely from Indiana most days but still thoroughly enjoys her visits to Ann Arbor to work in the office alongside her colleagues. Personally, her boys are now 12 (Parker) and 8 (Eli) and her age remains unknown (just kidding, she’s 41 and still fun)! Her husband (Ian) continues to be very busy (but happy and fulfilled- most days) in his plastic surgery career. On a typical day, you can find her working from home and then being a personal Uber driver for her kids’ multiple activities in the evening. Sometimes, she gets time to do the things she enjoys, like tending to her flowers, taking walks, and reading books, but mostly she’s an ever-busy mom. Let’s see what she’s been up to.

 First things first, for those who have not met you in person, tell us how you started at Columbia?

When my husband and I moved to Ann Arbor in 2010 for his residency at UofM, I started interviewing for jobs. I found a job posting online for Columbia (the listing was only open for about 3 days I’m told). I came to an interview (Brian was in shorts) and I made a joke in the interview, which sealed the deal with Brian. In addition, Linda and I hit it off immediately. I’m fortunate to have been able to stay on board working remotely while we moved to California for a year and then put down roots in Indiana. I still sometimes get emotional about how it all worked out the way it did. I’m so thankful because not only has my job been professionally rewarding, but it has brought me so many of my closest friends as well.

 

Remind us again, what do you do for Columbia?

I perform various roles for Columbia. which I would describe as a “behind the scenes” type of position. I have my series 65 so I do many trades, analyze client accounts, replace bonds, and handle all the invoicing/billing of accounts. Another big role is doing the accounting for Columbia, so QuickBooks is my best friend, or is it my worst 😉.

 

Since you are from Indiana, we must ask, are you an Indiana Pacers fan?

YES! My oldest boy, Parker, is a huge sports fan and loves the Indiana Pacers, along with UofM. We decided to get season tickets this past year and what a year to do it! Going to the the NBA finals was an experience we got to share together and a memory  we will never forget.  I never thought I would be such a huge sports fanatic, but seeing the joy and excitement it brings to your kid is irreplaceable. However, I still needed to make it “fun” for myself, so I came up with silly nicknames for all the Pacers players. In fact, everyone at the office learned them when I forced them to watch the Pacers/Knicks game with me last time I was in Ann Arbor, a few weeks ago! I should mention my younger son, Eli, isn’t really into sports, but more into bugs and nature, so I know a lot about that too!