Her Story
About Wanda
My journey into healthcare began with my mother, who was a nursing assistant. She was a single mother on welfare and food stamps when I was young, and she took a course at the community college to become a nursing assistant to provide for me. She didn't have childcare, so I went to work with her and sat in the lounge. When I got old enough, I began to transcribe for the hospital and did babysitting and nannying for some of the doctors and nurses. I initially attended DeVry Institution of Technology for electronic engineering and computer programming, but found it boring and dropped out. I worked as a unit secretary at the hospital for 3 years before my mom encouraged me not to settle and to become a nurse. After 2 years of nursing school, I became a nurse and worked in that field for about 30 years. However, a couple of patients fell on me and I was on bed rest for a couple of years. I needed to find something that didn't require so much physical activity. During COVID, I worked with the unemployment office doing extended payments, but about 6 months in, I got in a horrible car accident. Around the same time, I lost my husband to COVID. I wanted to do something remote where I didn't have to travel, so I applied for a job in college savings (529 plans), which led me into retirement planning with the same company. That's how I transitioned into finance, looking for remote work during COVID where I could heal from my injuries.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Wanda
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would have to attribute a lot of it to the values my mom has instilled in me, spiritually, and the relationship that we have with God, and the things that we believe in spiritually. My mother was also a very strong disciplinarian and didn't really accept any excuses for you not doing your very best. What success looked like to you may not be what it looked like to someone else, but accepting who you are and always striving to move forward and be the very best that you can be is what I really attribute a lot of my success to. She didn't play games.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just stick with it, don't be hard on yourself. Give yourself time to learn. There's always something new to learn, and there's always an area of finance you're gonna find interesting and enjoy. There is something in that particular field that you will enjoy. Be willing to learn, too. Be open to learn. At first, it may feel a little uncomfortable, but then as you get into it, you may find something else. There's something for everyone in there. That's one thing I can say about finance - there's something for every single type of person.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
God is the center of our life. We're faith believers, not fanaticals or anything like that, but we do have strong, strong faith and belief. I don't want to limit myself or nail myself down to specific plans because when you plan something, God laughs at you whenever you plan. I want to be open to where God wants me to do my work, whatever He wants me to do that I think would be beneficiary or helpful to someone else, or would give another family or another person a helping hand to make life a little easier for someone else. If opportunities come that are better, or I see I can do more, I have more influence, or I can help out more, I definitely would jump on it.
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