Five Questions: Kristy Chastain

Metropolitan National Bank Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer Kristy Chastain is one of 39 women statewide participating in the 2015 Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge. In March, the group completed the first of four, three-day educational sessions designed to bring together women leaders from large and small businesses, academia, government and nonprofits. According to GreaterMo.org, the challenge’s inaugural class was in 1990.

Alumni Approval
“Ginger Gooch from Husch Blackwell sponsored me into the group. You have to be nominated by a former member. She put my name in the ring, and they sent me a letter. It’s like the nomination process you’d go through for 40 Under 40 or Leadership Springfield. You fill out an application. You answer some questions, provide some background about yourself and provide a resume. … It is an amazing honor to be selected with this group of women. Most of them are experts in their fields and have been in their industries for much longer than I have.”

Class Peers
“They sent us a packet with everybody’s bio in it since there are so many of us from across the state. … Julie Cavenaile, she’s a supply-chain global quality-control lead at Monsanto, (and) Carolynne Huether is another one I thought was really interesting. She is a senior program manager leading advanced learning with Boeing Co. Defense Space and Security.”

Educational Agenda
“The next sessions are in June, September and November. The first was in the Jefferson City-Columbia area. We stayed in Columbia, and we spent time learning about not only educational divisions of our state, but governmental divisions, as well. We took a tour of the Jefferson City correctional center, and we spent some time with one of the Missouri Supreme Court justices. We spent some time in their chambers, and that was very interesting. We also had dinner one night with former Gov. [Bob] Holden. He talked about international affairs, and that was fascinating. The next time we’ll be in Kansas City meeting with not-for-profits. One of them is similar to our Harmony House. … In September, we’ll be in Kirksville learning about how the agricultural industry affects our state. Then, when we go to St. Louis in November, we’ll be learning about big business. We’ll be spending some time at Boeing and, I believe, Monsanto.”

Takeaways
“In the first session, I learned about how the community college in Columbia works with its community. … There was a panel there from (various) colleges. Stephens College had its president there. The chancellor from Mizzou was there. Crowder College was represented. One of the things they were talking about that was interesting to me was externships – especially at the community-college level. We’ve talked about internships and how important those are for college-level kids to learn about how to work in the business world and what opportunities there are. But for a teacher to really understand and direct students, they need externships. So, we need to be able to give teachers a chance to come work in our businesses for a few weeks or a month for a few hours every week. That’s something we could do in Springfield.”
   
Beyond Math
“I went into banking as a bank teller when I was 19 and in college. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was seeking a degree in mathematics at (Missouri State University), and I had been accepted at (University of Missouri-Kansas City’s) engineering-school program. I was thinking I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer, believe it or not. I went up there and was interviewed, spent some time in their department … and I decided to stay here and get my degree in mathematics. … I took an internship for a period of time with American National insurance, because I considered doing actuarial science. … I didn’t love that job, though, because there wasn’t a lot of people interaction, and I learned about myself that I needed to be in a position where I could interact with people. … When I finished my degree, I remember sitting at the drive-thru and thinking, I really should be a commercial lender. And that’s what I did. I worked my way up."