Her Story
About Carissa
I started in the mortgage business back in 2003 when I was very young and green, beginning in the collateral department on the back end of the process. After the loan closed and funded, we would pull the note, the mortgage, and the title and send it to the warehouse bank. From there, I moved up to team lead for our final docs department, then to our funding and closing departments, and eventually became a closing manager. I also worked for a title company during my career. When I came to Freedom Mortgage, I left Wells Fargo as a manager and joined Freedom as a closing department team lead working remotely. I've been with Freedom for 14 years as of this October, and I've worked my way up to director. Now I oversee three to four processes within three divisions of our company. I still work remotely, though I do travel quarterly now, whereas before COVID I was traveling monthly. It's an industry that, no matter what, is still evolving, and we're still learning new things every day. Even though I've been in the industry for 23 years, the rules and regulations change constantly. But everyone always needs a mortgage, so I've found my niche here.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carissa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I've always had my family in my corner, and now I have my husband, and he is my number one cheerleader. He believes in things that I don't always even think I can do, and he is always like, yes, you can. But just having that drive, and I always just want more. I'm never comfortable with just the norm. I have always been a sponge, meaning I absorb everything even if it doesn’t pertain to my direct role. Knowledge is power! It’s important to allow ourselves grace and remind ourselves that we are human and we are going to make mistakes. It’s making sure you learn from your mistakes that will set you apart from others. I have always been in leadership roles and in years past have found that I was the youngest of my peers.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t accept, “No”, for an answer. If you want something go out and get it and don’t rely on anyone else.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
There are so many men in this industry, and I think worldwide, it always sounds like the women never get to be, quote-unquote, equal to the men. We're still fighting for that equal rights, the equal pay, the equal everything. We bust our humps to get where we are, and we don't always get those accolades, or even a hey, great job. It's just like, okay, we want more. Sometimes I find that the men push everything on us, like when they don't want to have to let somebody go, they say oh, here you go, you can do that. They push everything on us, and then they take all the credit. We do 150% of the work for about 50% of the credit.
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