Misty Lung

I started out in construction when I was younger, running heavy machinery and building roads, sidewalks, driveways, and highways. I wasn't holding the sign like they used to have women do - I was actually in the concrete doing the whole thing with asphalt and everything. After a couple years, it aged me and I didn't want to be broken down like a lot of them were, so I wanted to do something professional. I was raised with the knowledge that I could go that extra mile and go into a field that my parents never stepped into - they were blue-collar workers, and I wanted to be more than that. I applied for Citibank and got in working with mortgages, then moved to assignments and did a little management. After 14 years, I took a break and FedEx asked me to come in and set up and run a dry material lab, which I did for a couple years. Then I went back into banking with Bank of America, doing research and adjustments. I've been in the banking industry for about 14 to 16 years total. I work with CDL loans and credit cards that are getting ready to be written off, and I go in and try to get all the money I can from them month after month before they get closed out. The first few months were really hard - I got hired around Christmas time and people were getting money wired in for Christmas, and I was taking all that, taking their Christmas away. It caused me to have a stroke - actually two strokes back-to-back. But I worked through that, and within a year I was stronger than I ever was in the field. I just have to look at it as they're numbers, they're not people. I always liked working somewhere professional, but in the background.