Blog

Welcome to another Team Spotlight blog! I sat down with Dani, our Technology Training and Development Specialist. Check it out!

Hello! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how long you've been at FCCU?

Hi, I'm Dani Sherman and I am the Technology Training and development specialist here at FCCU. I was hired my Junior year of high school as a teller at the Main Branch. I started in 2013, I think that's six years... wow, math (yay math). I have since moved up my own little ladder, Teller to Marketing Intern, Technology and Marketing Specialist, and now Technology Training and Development Specialist. Essentially, we keep adding on words to my title as we add on more jobs to my title.

What does an average day at FCCU look like for you?

It depends on where they place me! I do have the pleasure of working from home, so sometimes I just wake up, take the dogs out, sit down, and work. It's never the same — that's the most accurate and most cliché thing to say. I'm a project-based team member, so I just work on whatever project is current.

What is your favorite part about your job?

I like the freedom that I have and the ability to work from home. There are days where it is hard to get up and motivate myself to drive the 45 minutes to get to work. I love when I can just wake up, sit down next to my dogs, drink a cup of coffee, and start working. That's probably my absolute favorite part.

I also enjoy the people I work with- another cliché thing. It sounds weird to say, but I love the informality of working here, like the soft skills of chatting with people, and how people here really care about each other.

Outside of work, what are some of your favorite things to do?

Well I was in color guard for nine years, both high school and at UW Whitewater, and am having a sort of existential crises about not being at band camp right now. It's fine don't worry about it. *stares into the void of existential crisis dramatically*

I am currently a solo dog trainer at the Lake Mills Vet Clinic, where I am learning to interpret animal behavior and use rewards-based training techniques - a very fancy way of describing "dog training." I am on a five-year education track towards my CPDT-KA which is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed. Eventually I want to be a certified dog trainer where I legit know my stuff.

For fun, I also enjoy watching YouTube videos while I'm driving, cooking, cleaning, etc. I watch videos on a variety of topics including beauty, video games, stories, history, current events, and more.

Who are your favorite YouTubers?

Oh wow, there are too many to count. My current favorites are Philip DeFranco, Jen Luvs Reviews, Sierra Schultzzie, and Smokey Glow. Oh, and Jamie Wolfer. She's a wedding planner. I'm not engaged but I have my wedding mostly planned. I watch way too much YouTube to the point where I pay for it, literally I have YouTube Premium. I shouldn't, I could be spending my money more wisely, but I enjoy it too much. Oh, and I am trying to like cooking because my boyfriend doesn't like cooking and YouTube helps with that.

Another one of my favorite things is going to the zoo with my boyfriend, Sam. I love seeing all the animals, especially the flamingos and river otters. Sam is a BIG giraffe guy. Our house is covered in giraffe decorations, none of which I've purchased myself. Haha

Dani's love for flamingos has not disappeared over the years!

I also like drawing! I am starting to get into drawing again after a long hiatus (also known as college). We've been watching a lot of Avatar the Last Airbender, so I've been very inspired by the color palettes of all the benders, because I'm a big nerd! I've been working on a cool drawing that uses color schemes and elements. I don't draw a lot but it's very relaxing, and as a person who used to do homework every night it's really hard to just sit and not do anything productive or of value. It's nice to draw and produce something.

Now that I've graduated, most of my identity was related to school and the groups I was in. Since graduation, I've entered the real world where I am no longer a color guard captain or a 4.0 student, and instead am adulting as an FCCU team member!

What is your favorite volunteering opportunity you've done with FCCU and why?

My favorite volunteering opportunity is at the Jefferson County Humane Society. I clean the dog kennels and walk and cuddle with the dogs. It's not necessarily an event that we do, but I am still representing the credit union when I am there. It's very connected to the dog training stuff that I do, so it's very cool that I can do things related to my hobby as a volunteering opportunity for work.

What is your favorite 80's or 90's jam?

My 80's jam is "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, and my 90's jam is "Inside Out" by Eve Six *starts singing and dancing to Inside out during the interview*. For some context I was three years old when Inside Out was released, to make everyone feel old. (Dani while proofreading this blog: OMG that sounds so mean... let's keep it in anyways).

If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be and why?

I would be my dog. Not any dog. My dog. Because I am a great owner and I would be able to sleep all day.

What is one FCCU service that you wish more people knew about?

I wish more people knew about Bill Pay. There is some work that you have to do to set it up, like putting all of your bills in to begin with, but once you have it set all you have to do is go in and click pay. Depending on the bill, like charter, it sends straight to Bill Pay and the ones that the amounts change every month you can see that months total and have everything on one platform. It's super useful because I don't like having to log into all the different websites and with Bill Pay it's all on one. The more you become an adult the more a service like this becomes useful.

If you won the lottery, what would you do?

I would sort my choice into two categories- I sound so pretentious practical and fun. In a practical sense I would pay off my student and car loans first, then I would help my parents pay off their house. Although it really depends on how much I win because I would really like to save for myself too. I would move into a much nicer apartment and decorate. Right now, I am in that stage of life where you furnish based on what's free or cheap.

Charitable contributions: I would love to donate time and money to the Humane Society. For fun I would buy more ethically sourced fashion, which always cost way too much.

I would buy more things for my dogs. I just spent $40 on Amazon for more things to spoil them. I love my dogs. It's like people with kids or grand kids but mine have fur.

I would also probably travel, which is a cliché answer but it's true. Right now it's hard to travel when living paycheck to paycheck, so if I won it would be more of a priority.

Are there any places to which you would like to travel?

I'd like to get married too, so for honeymoon destinations I would love to go to Hawaii or an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. Somewhere beachy where I can sit and get burned and drink all-inclusive drinks and be in the water. Which stinks because my boyfriend doesn't like swimming and would rather be doing things other than just sitting around. It's my lottery money! We're going to the beach! I would love to go to Disney again, and go to the Star Wars section of Hollywood Studios. If I had more money, I think I would have a lot more fun at Disney World. Part of Disney World is the guilt of spending money. I was just there 3 weeks ago, and I already want to go back.

What does the Credit Union difference mean to you?

To me credit unions have a different set of priorities than other financial institutions. Whereas banks have shareholders to please, we have members to serve. The way we serve our members is not just through dividends, higher savings rates, and lower loan rates. We serve our members through the decisions we make. Whether it be as big as a new service offering or as small as an individual loan decision. I know it sounds like a bunch of corporate jargon, but I have seen it firsthand as a member being helped by a loan officer and a team member sitting in a meeting with our C-suite executives. I feel that we as an organization care more than other types of financial institutions.