Michelene Morada – Customer Service Representative

The famous Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!” That has been my mantra ever since. I have repeated the quote millions, if not billions of times, and I think that I have learned to live my life in that way.

Michelle – that’s what my family calls me. Mich, to my friends and colleagues.

I grew up in an extended family where I lived with my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles ever since my father left us. My mother worked as hard as she could to send us to the best schools and made our lives comfortable. That, I will be forever grateful for.

The challenges we experienced growing up made me look at life in a different perspective. Strong, independent women dominated our family and that I believe was a great impact of who I am today.

I went to an exclusive school in college and because of some poor choices, I became pregnant at an early age and was not able to finish school. I was a full-time mum until my daughter was 3 years old.

An opportunity to serve a local government unit as a Secretary was offered to me in June 2000 and I immediately grabbed the chance. I had first hand experiences of helping people, people who were less fortunate, people who can’t afford to put enough food on the table, a mother who can’t afford to send her children to school, families who were unable to give a loved one a decent burial… I could go on and on but the list won’t stop. It was heart breaking for me but it opened my eyes to the reality of life. It even came to a point where I thought of running for public office. It was a very tough decision to leave but I had to think of my own family, especially when I gave birth again to a beautiful girl. Despite the recognitions and commendations, I received, I realized that public office is not for me 🙂 My service lasted for almost 8 years. I am forever grateful because that’s where I developed my admin and people skills.

My own family was growing then and I had to think of means to earn more. In 2008, I applied as a collections agent and got accepted at NCO Financial Systems, INC – my first BPO experience. They are a third-party collections agency in the United States. I was both an inbound and outbound collector for charge-off accounts. The job was really tough, as it was hardcore collections. But giving up was never an option. I worked my way until such time that I became one of the top collectors and was earning enough to live a comfortable life. I stayed for more than 2 years and decided to seek greener pastures.

March 2011, I was hired as a collection’s agent at JP Morgan Chase. It was a different world for me because it was an in-house call center with vast opportunities. It had a wider scope because this bank has an expansive line of businesses. I was awarded as the top collector in my batch and that inspired me to perform more.

After a year in the collections department, I decided to move out of my comfort zone and tried something new. I sought another position and landed as a fraud analyst. I have been recognised multiple times and received a couple of promotions. Another challenge was given to me when I handled my first team of new hires, one team after another. I have learned to love my job there, became inspired to do more, and it honed me to be the better person I am today. It lasted for almost 8 years.

Another door was opened to me when I was hired at American Express. It was really life changing. The skills, experiences and attitude I have developed over the years made it a breeze to be recognised for my exemplary work. When you are passionate about what you do, rewards come without having to chase them.

I have been through ups and downs along the way and I am proud to say, I am a solo parent to 3 beautiful kids. It can be stressful at times but very rewarding to see how they’ve grown to be good individuals.

I focused so much on how to make our lives comfortable and unknowingly I have been losing one important thing: Time. I have missed so much time with my children. Looking back, I missed a lot of holidays, school events, those special occasions that I must admit I regret not being there. The price I have to pay for being a single mum, I guess.

I learned that there are jobs being offered while in the comfort of your home, and I was skeptical at first. But some of my friends have already transitioned from corporate to a homebased job, so I thought to myself, maybe this is the opportunity that I have been looking for. Something that I need, earning while being at home with my family.
With the skills and expertise I have developed over the years plus the right mindset, I am positive that one day, I will be a successful Virtual colleague.

We shoot for the stars – we land in the sky. Never stop dreaming.

For a copy of Michelene’s resume please click here.