Meet Danielle

“I call Education First my neighbors because that is how I feel about them,” says Danielle. “They are invested in my well-being and support my community, so therefore they are my neighbors.”

Danielle joined Education First Credit Union in 1998, as a first-year teacher with Columbus City Schools.

“I was new in town and needed a bank,” says Danielle. “[Education First] was presented as a safe and convenient resource for new teachers so I decided to give it a try.”

Now a district administrator, Danielle could have never imagined that over 20 years later she would consider herself a lifetime credit union member and advocate. Like so many of our members, she has experienced major life milestones with the Credit Union; from graduate school and doctoral school to purchasing cars and her first home.

Danielle says what she appreciates most about the Credit Union is the ease of being able to walk in with a challenge and see someone on the spot capable of helping her figure it out.

From lost or compromised debit cards to needing an itemized statement retrieval, every time Danielle has needed the Credit Union’s assistance she says she “was greeted with patience and a solution on the spot.”

Over the years, life has thrown her some financial curve balls, but Danielle says she knows she can rely on Education First to be there to help guide her in making sound financial decisions.

“Banks, in my experience, are about banks making money,” says Danielle. “My credit union, in my experience, is about how best to store, invest and protect my money to best serve me.”

She has been with Education First through many changes and growing pains; from the transition from paper checks to debit cards to location changes to the introduction of mobile and home banking.

“I have never experienced any difficulties with the transitions,” says Danielle, sighting the Credit Union’s high level of customer care and appreciation.

Danielle regularly recommends Education First to co-workers and acquaintances, especially to first-year teachers. “It’s a great way to anchor yourself in the community and it gives you the feel of small-town service in a relatively big town setting,” she says.

“As the years have passed by, I feel proud that I have found and utilized a fair banking organization that has grown with me and my family,” says Danielle.

“Everyone at my local east side branch knows me and I know them. I am greeted with a smile and hello from my team each and every time I visit. We know each other and I feel valued as a customer and community member each and every time I step foot into my Credit Union. It is just that… a Union.”