Democracy, free speech, even fast food. Sometimes we can take these national staples for granted, but to some people from the outside looking in, they are luxuries.
“This is a country of real opportunity,” said Elizabeth D. Horyn, newly appointed vice president branch manager at Citizen’s Bank in West Hartford. Hoyrn moved to the United States in the ‘80s from Poland when her husband decided it was time to look for more opportunities and a better future.
“I basically started my banking career in West Hartford,” said Horyn, 45, who started with Hartford National Bank and stuck with it through a series of mergers and acquisitions that morphed it into Bank of America. “I thought this was a great way for me to get back into town.”
Horyn started off in a back room at Hartford National Bank, but through classes at community colleges, she learned English, got into retail banking and is now working toward her degree in management at the University of Hartford, though she currently has a variety of banking certificates.
Her main priority is exceptional customer service and community involvement, but Horyn also wants to act as a role model for other employees in the bank.
“I want my colleagues to always remember my leadership,” said Horyn who has an education degree from a school in Poland. “Maybe that’s from my teaching background.”
Horyn, a mother of three daughters, speaks Polish, Russian, German and English. She is also a member of the Polish/American Congress, the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the Polish Cultural Club.
Professionally, Horyn strives each day to lead a “happy branch,” not just for the customers, but her colleagues, too.
“When I first moved, what really attracted me to America was the warmth towards immigrants,” said Horyn, who currently lives in Newington with her family. “I’m trying to pay back as much as I can.”
Amanda Blaszyk is a staff writer for the Hartford Business Journal.