Who are the people that our clients talk to, trust, and work with year after year? Get to know more about our agency by getting to know the people through our Employee Spotlight Series.
What do you do here at Wells?
I'm a client advisor in Personal Lines and I work out of the Oleander office.
What's your background?
Originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, I spent about 10 years in Jacksonville, North Carolina and then moved to Wilmington about 11 or 12 years ago. I was in another agency in Wilmington for two years before I came here.
What do you like most about working at Wells?
I just like the family dynamic that they've set up here. It just feels very welcoming and warm, if that makes sense. Kind of a nice change to what corporate life kind of feels like at other agencies that I've worked with.
What's the best lesson you've learned throughout your career?
I think the best lesson for myself at least is just always wanting to provide for my daughter, Adeline, and just doing anything I can to kind of strive for that.
What's the biggest challenge you've had in your career?
Building personal connections was a struggle for me at first. Even when I worked at Harris Teeter, the more I've grown, the easier it's become. It's been the hardest thing so far, at least in my professional career. And the more I get into insurance, the easier it's become for me. I try to believe that I'm pretty personable and at least I try my best, too.
What's the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?
Career-wise, just getting my license and then life-wise, just having Adeline. She's just been doing something that's kept pushing me forward to do better and better. She's just the most important thing to me.
What's the first job you ever had?
I was a camp counselor at YMCA for two years, for their summer camp. So that was the very first job that I had when I was in high school. And then Harris Teeter would be after that.
What's the weirdest job you've ever had?
I was a camp counselor at a sailing camp for a year.
Did you know anything about sailing?
Absolutely not. But it was like a sailing church camp that I had attended for like three or four years, and then I was a counselor for one year, but I was in canoes and not sailing. I learned as much as I could about sailing, but it was not for me.
If you could do anything for a living, what would you do?
Either game development or just what I currently do with insurance. It's kind of like two polar opposite things, but I really enjoy what I do currently. I've always been interested in games and the back end of computers and all sorts of things like that.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
I am currently running, swimming, and biking, training for triathlon, but I also enjoy gaming, and going to the beach. We're at the beach constantly. I love being outdoors.
What’s volunteer activity do you enjoy the most?
Probably beach cleanups or tree planting.
What's on your bucket list?
To go to Japan, I've just always been interested in their culture. I love their food. I have two friends that got married last year and their delayed honeymoon is there. And then another friend is getting married this year and the honeymoon is there. I said, "Which one am I invited to? We can do both."
What's your biggest strength?
My people skills...being able to hopefully always provide a warm and safe space for people to talk to. If someone's upset about something, especially in our industry, calming them down and being able to help in any way I can.
What's your biggest weakness?
Probably procrastination. It's gotten a lot better, but just throughout my early years procrastination was probably the biggest weakness that I had.
What's your secret superpower nobody knows about?
I'm pretty good at everything I try. It irritates my partner a lot because I'm good at pretty much anything I try for the first time. It just never goes past that. I never can master anything, but I'm pretty good at just about everything at surface level.
Favorite book?
Hunger Games. That whole series was my favorite growing up.
Favorite TV Show?
The Great British Bake Off and Taskmaster are my favorite shows currently.
Favorite movie?
How to Train Your Dragon probably. It's one of my favorite kid style movies and I've been watching a ton of them because of Adeline.
Favorite Podcast?
Fantasy Footballers, it's my favorite podcast. It used to be NFL Insider, but then that kind of got disbanded. So yeah, Fantasy Footballers for the fantasy leagues that I'm not in. I just listen because I find it intriguing.
Favorite band?
Powfu or D4VD. They're both what I would call "sad rap"...a very melodic meaningful style of rap music.
How do you define success?
I think success for me is being able to provide Addie with the same life that I had growing up and the same experiences and opportunities that I was given.
What's the best advice you've ever been given?
The best advice that I've been given is don't settle and that no matter what happens, it's always better as you keep moving forward.
If you have questions about about Personal Insurance such as home, wind and hail or auto, feel free to reach out to Austin at Wells Insurance. Check out the Youtube version of this Employee Spotlight.
