Ays in the spotlight ??

First things first:

·???????? Sweet or savory? CHEESE! lol ????

·???????? Cooking at home or dining out? Can I do both? ????

·???????? Books or movies? Movies??

·???????? Camping or glamping? Glamping please!?

·???????? Guitar or piano ? Guitar- ahh, the sound of a beautiful guitar playing ????

Where do you hail from?

I was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne in a Turkish household. ?From age 9 I moved around a bit until I found my home with my husband, Nick, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and have been here for almost 15 years.

My life started off tough, I’m not going to sugar coat it. My parents got divorced when I was young, and things were bad for a long time. After my first job at Bank of Melbourne as a teller many moons ago, I started the path to my career in finance.

This first job led me to broking for almost 10 years, then to branch lending, then to becoming a BDM, which I have been doing since 2014.

I thought I was going to find my purpose in my career but found it in my family. I met my husband in 2000 and we had 2 beautiful daughters together, Zara & Jayda, who are the centre of my universe. Along the way we adopted a dog (a mini shoodle named Billi) and my teenagers would argue that she is now the love of my life- sometimes I don't argue with them!??

Life outside of work?

I love everything about food - cooking, watching cooking videos, flicking through cookbooks. If I'm on social media, I'm most likely watching cooking videos to unwind. I should be better at cooking with all the exposure, however, I'm not the best at it- but the kids are fed most days!

I can live in the extremes; I love long calm walks out in the fresh air, and I also love listening to Turkish music loudly whilst dancing and pottering around the house. ?After 15 years of procrastination, I’ve recently joined a gym and am learning to lift weights. I’ve learnt its more mental than physical.

My dream is to travel. I’d love to visit Turkey, Greece and Italy with my family in the next few years and then a different part of the world every year ... forever.

I wear my heart on my sleeve and wouldn't change it one bit. If you know me, you’ll know I love ‘Love’.

Life as a BDM

If I had to describe being a BDM in 3 words, I would say BUSY, FUN & IMPORTANT.

I see the BDM role as helping brokers help their customers in their important home buying journey- that's really it.

I love every bit of being a BDM! Helping others, learning things myself, building a career, the challenges and the growth. All of it- especially here at ubank!

I started my journey here when we were 86:400, the first digital bank for brokers. Ready to shake up digital banking and do something different, we all contributed to building our bank from the ground up, one brick at a time. ?I'm very proud of the bank we are, but mostly the people in it.

The icing on the cake is the industry awards and broker recognition I’ve received that reaffirms that what I am doing is useful to them and adds value to their businesses.

What’s the best thing about living in VIC?

I would say my family and friends. I'm not sure if this is where I want to end up as there’s so much of Australia and the world I haven't seen but for now its home; my kids are in good schools, we have great friend's around us, there’s always something to see and do in Melbourne and the best cafes and restaurants I’ve been to are here in Melbourne.

The weather is questionable, but the humans are wonderful!

?Hit us with some life advice!

·?Persistence overrides resistance – I love this one! Keep going and don't give up no matter what. And enjoy the journey, as it can be more fun than the destination!

·?People don't remember what you did for them, they remember how you made them feel - Don't be transactional, be human !

·?Nothing wrong with eating a Filet of Fish every now and then ??