This summer, Terry Gaither will celebrate 28 years with the company, during which time she has worked exclusively with borrowers and customers. Her gentle nature and poised disposition are major factors which have contributed to her flourishing success as a Customer Service Representative.

When she was first hired, Terry spent a few years in borrower services before being promoted directly to customer service. Today, Terry spends the majority of her time expertly handling phone calls from customers and borrowers. Giving advice on how to handle specific borrower issues and reviewing loans with customers to help them understand a situation with a borrower are examples Terry gives of her job duties. “I really like what I do,” exclaims Terry. She also states that making borrowers and customers happy is one of the most rewarding aspects of her job.

Terry says the key to good customer service is not to get frustrated and to assure the caller that you will work with them to resolve their issue. “I always try to handle each call with patience and understanding. If I’m speaking with a borrower, I think of how I would want my own son or daughter to be treated,” Terry asserts.

Along with her proficient customer service skills, Terry’s longevity in the business has led to her assuming a leadership role among the other representatives, who often turn to her for guidance. “Terry’s years of experience are a valuable asset to Campus Partners. Her knowledge is invaluable to her team members, customers and everyone she talks with,” comments Lisa Koniuto, Director of Business Development.

The knowledge Terry has gained over the years enables her to understand not only the needs of our customers but also our processes, and she frequently makes suggestions to enhance processing procedures. “My brain is always working overtime,” says Terry. Consequently, many of Terry’s ideas have been incorporated as standard practice. For example, Terry suggested filming incomplete forms that have to be returned to the borrower. This way, if the borrower misplaces the original form before resubmitting, we have a back-up copy of the information.

Terry attributes her vast understanding of the student loan industry to Sharon Cameron, Audit and Compliance Specialist and 32-year veteran employee. “I was trained by the best,” Terry says of Sharon. “She knows just about everything and if you ask her a question, you know you’re going to get the right answer.” Terry also states that having had the opportunity to work with very large campus-based customers has helped her learn details that benefit all of her customers, no matter their size.

In the future, Terry says she looks forward to doing a lot of traveling with her husband, Byron. One of the places she dreams of visiting is Las Vegas. “We’ll have to drive, because flying scares me,” she laughs. Her ideal travel arrangements would be to buy an RV and drive throughout the United States.
Terry is also an enthusiastic bargain shopper. Not long ago, she went to her very first yard sale, and now she’s hooked. She says she thinks it would be quite fun to go to the world’s largest yard sale. The yard sale spans 630 miles and covers five states, including Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky.

Although Terry says she can’t sit still long enough to watch a movie, she does find the time to watch murder investigation shows, like CSI and Law and Order. “I get so engrossed in shows like that, I think I missed my calling,” Terry jokes. While we don’t doubt Terry would be successful at catching the bad guys, we think she’s in exactly the right place…Campus Partners!