Senior secondary market specialist Marzena Kroll celebrates 20 years with North Shore Bank this month.

Twenty years ago, senior secondary market specialist Marzena Kroll was still new to the area. She knew almost nothing about banking, much less what a secondary market even was. (At North Shore Bank, the term refers to mortgage loans we’ve sold to investors like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.)

“I truly wasn’t expecting to stay here!” says Marzena, who was hired in 2001 as a secondary market coordinator. “I remember thinking, ‘Me banking!? No way!’ at the time. I really had no idea even what a mortgage was!”

Born and raised in Poland, Marzena had moved from there to Chicago in 1995 on a student visa, to learn English and attend Wilbur Wright College. In 2000, she’d gotten engaged and relocated to Milwaukee with her fiancé. “The engagement did not work out,” she notes with a smile, “but Milwaukee is my hometown now.”

Marzena (right) circa 2001, with former North Shore Bank employee Danuta Lupina, who encouraged her to apply at the bank that year.

She was working at a travel agency, where one of her customers was a North Shore Bank employee. The customer “strongly encouraged” her to apply for a job here.

“I remember her saying, ‘You truly would be a great asset to the North Shore Bank family.’ And I really did not understand why she would call a bank family,” Marzena says. “Well, now I totally get it!”

Though she had no experience in banking, Marzena believes her personality made her a good fit for the secondary market team. “I’m well organized, I’m always focusing on my work to make sure everything is done on time, and I’m always ready to help others,” she says. “I also have learned how to handle stressful situations and keep a smile on my face.”

“She is amazing to work with,” confirms her boss, VP loan operations Nicole Daniels, who has worked with Marzena for over a decade. “She’s dedicated to North Shore Bank, always flexible, and ready to tackle whatever may be needed. Her quality of work and work ethic are very strong. I’m very pleased to have her on our residential team.”

Nicole adds: “It feels like our families know each other just through the stories we’ve shared of parental moments!”

Marzena notes that when she started at North Shore Bank, she was young and single and had “no responsibilities.” Now she and husband and best friend Ben have two children, 9-year-old son Jackson and daughter Olivia, 8. The family loves to travel, and their favorite destinations so far include Aruba and the Bahamas, New Zealand, and (naturally) Poland. Marzena and Ben are also hoping to get the kids to all 50 states in the U.S. So far they’ve got 35 under their belts.

She says she is grateful to Nicole and the countless great colleagues and executives she’s worked with over the last 20 years. She has learned so much from them, and her co-workers make her smile every day — no small part of what has kept her here this long.

“Secondary market changes daily. That makes it very challenging and fun at the same time,” she says, reflecting on her time in banking. She jokes, “I would like to say cheers to 20 more years — but I’m hoping I can retire a little sooner than that!”

As for the travel customer who recommended she apply here back in 2001, Marzena smiles. “I’m so glad I listened to her and applied. And the rest is history!”