Surround yourself with good people, and don’t be afraid to try something new.

Those are the two biggest lessons Shelley Besse has learned during a 38-year career with First West Credit Union — better known in the Fraser Valley through its local brand, Envision Financial — a career that’s seen her rise from teller to president. Her current role as chief credit officer, which she accepted in 2019, is the latest example of Shelley pushing herself outside of her comfort zone.

“If you’d told me 20 years ago that this is where I’d be today, I would have laughed, because my interests and expertise have evolved so much,” Shelley says. “But then again, I probably wouldn’t have been with the same organization all these years without the different opportunities and challenges that I’ve received.”

“I think sometimes we don’t believe we can do things, so it’s about trusting in yourself and taking every opportunity to learn something new”

Shelley has held 20 positions with First West, and she says they’ve all been great learning opportunities.

“I think sometimes we don’t believe we can do things, so it’s about trusting in yourself and taking every opportunity to learn something new, even if it’s something you never saw yourself doing or didn’t think you could do,” she says. “Just do it and learn from it because when you compete for careers in the marketplace, the broader the perspective you have, the more valuable you are.”

Shelley first came to University of the Fraser Valley (then Fraser Valley College) in the mid-1980s, and after taking a few years off finished a Business Administration diploma in 1999. She holds an MBA from Royal Roads University and a certificate in financial planning. She’s also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program specializing in strategy and organizational design and received an Operational Risk Management professional designation from the International Council for Operational Risk Management.

“Finding mentors is so important to personal development”

Shelley says she’s had a lot of amazing mentors in her career. One of the first people to make an impact was communications instructor Madeleine Hardin, now a professor emeritus.

“She did the Business Communications course, and she was such an excellent instructor,” Shelley recalls. “It was her approach and the way she treated people.

“Finding mentors is so important to personal development and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the people like Madeleine and so many others who took the time to provide mentorship to me.”

When Shelley first started at the credit union, it had approximately $200 million in assets. Now, through decades of steady growth and successive mergers, First West has more than $18 billion in total assets and assets under administration. And Shelley’s proud of her role in that.

“It has been an amazing journey,” she says.