Vy was planning a career in animation when an opportunity with us came to life.

Vy Nguyen studied animation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and planned to move to New York City to pursue an artistic career—but then the pandemic happened. Vy had a great apartment in the Valley and decided to stay put.

Working with a local retailer, she discovered she enjoys serving customers and assisting in the back office, making deposits and recordkeeping. Vy wanted a more specialized environment, though, and heard from a friend that banks were understaffed. She recalled from her UMass days that Florence Bank sponsored a lot of events and turned to us first.

Vy was hired in February 2022 in an entry level teller position in the main branch in Florence, and seven months later, she hurdled over the next natural teller promotion to an even higher-level role of senior teller—a leadership position. Still engaged in customer service, she is also responsible for tasks such as ordering cash to have on hand, balancing ATM transactions, and guiding colleagues. 

She is proud of the work she is doing and prouder still to be a team member for a bank that supports the community by sponsoring events and offering philanthropic engagement through the annual Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program, which gives customers the chance to vote on which area nonprofits they’d like the bank to support.

“We hear a lot of customers say they really enjoy Customers’ Choice because it engages them—and they have a choice,” she says.

Hearing this kind of feedback from customers and learning about their lives is important to Vy. “Building relationships is a big part of what I do,” she explains. “I get to know what’s happening in peoples’ lives and to uncover little gems about them.”

When considering a career with us, Customers’ Choice and our giving culture particularly resonated with Vy, a social activist who spent extended periods of time during college working along the Thailand-Burma border, supporting refugees from Burma.

She also appreciates the bank’s welcoming and supportive culture. “The bank definitely values me as an employee. I’ve had the most recognition here that I’ve had in any job,” she says, noting that employees can send each other Way to Gos—certificates of recognition for jobs well done—and Vy likes sending and receiving them. 

She also appreciates the perks and incentives that come out of HR, like Hot Dog Day, occasional cornhole tournaments, and the fairly recent change to style protocol that allows employees to wear jeans any day of the week. On Forbidden Footwear Day, Vy even got to wear slippers to work. 

Vy was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and moved to the United States when she was four. Her family lived in the Worcester area, and when she moved to the Valley, she noted the marked differences between central and Western Mass. 

Florence Bank helped her feel at home here.

“I definitely recommend Florence Bank as an employer,” she says. “The bank values its employees. It engages with them and gets them engaged in the community. That’s huge,” she says, adding, “I have experienced a lot of opportunity for growth at the bank, and there are still many opportunities to grow.” 

Find your Florence Bank career today.