Bee the Change for Yourself & Your Community

By Hannah Simerson, Community Development Leader, CityMark Federal Credit Union

When I found out I had placed in the top three for the 2025 CrossState CU Ambassador contest, I cried—but not in celebration, triumph, or pride. I cried in fear. The thought of speaking in front of a room full of people who were in higher positions than me, who had been in the credit union world longer, and who certainly had better ideas frightened me in a way I could not even begin to articulate.

Surely, there were more deserving contestants. They must have made a mistake—I’d hoped they had made a mistake. But scared or not, I had to get on stage during CrossState Connect Annual Convention in May 2025 and deliver a speech about my project. So I did what any chronic self-doubter and sufferer of impostor syndrome would do: I spent the weeks leading up to the conference telling myself all the ways in which it could go wrong.

Those weeks went by faster than I wanted them to, and before I knew it, I was waiting in the wings of the stage that had plagued my nightmares since I’d submitted my proposal. My name was called, and out I went. My first shaky breath threatened to blow my cover, so I took a deeper one. The rest of my speech is a complete blur, but I do remember how I felt: powerful, assured, confident. All attributes that I would typically never use to describe myself. I was scared, and I did it anyway.

While I didn’t win last year, I gained something beyond valuable that night. My mindset shifted from thinking that I didn’t belong in these rooms to realizing I could make a difference in them.

Even still, a few short months later when applications opened for the 2026 CU Ambassador Contest, I found that old self-doubter creeping in as if I hadn’t just proved her wrong. What I’m continuing to learn is that self-doubt will be my lifelong struggle—but it doesn’t need to be my lifelong truth. I wasn’t sure I was up to applying for the CU Ambassador Contest again. I was scared, and I did it anyway.

This time, I had even bigger ideas, ones I second-guessed whether I could lead. Yet here I was, jumping headfirst into it. What followed was a series of events that completely flipped my internal narrative. I took my proposal ideas to my bosses and voiced my thoughts, albeit shakily and nervously and maybe not as clearly as I had rehearsed in my head. Not only did they listen, but they also rallied behind me in ways I won’t ever forget.

My project, “Bee the Change: CityMark’s Green Banking Initiative,” started as a simple question: How could we make greener banking feel more personal and community driven instead of just procedural? Financial institutions consume enormous amounts of paper every day, and I wanted to find a way to encourage more sustainable habits while still making members feel connected to the process.

From the beginning, I knew our bee mascot would be at the heart of the initiative. The bee is the very essence of who we are; it’s a symbol of our roots and community, a visual representation of what CityMark Federal Credit Union stands for. What surprised me most wasn’t the environmental impact—it was the response from people around me.

Members enrolled in e-statements and signed loan documents electronically not because they were pressured to but because they wanted to participate in something bigger than themselves. Staff members shared weekly eco-friendly banking tips online, and members responded with commitments they wanted to make in their own lives: recycling more, using reusable products, reducing waste, and making small changes that collectively create meaningful impact. For the first time, I watched an idea that once existed only in my head become something real within my community.

As the initiative continued to grow, we partnered with The Beekeeper’s Daughter, a local honey business whose values aligned closely with our own. Together, we were able to make sustainability engaging, fun, and collaborative. During “Bee the Change Week,” members planted wildflower seeds to support pollinators, participated in sustainability trivia, attended a Honey and Finance Happy Hour, and entered raffles featuring eco-friendly products. They also helped recycle 54 boxes of paper during our first-ever Shred Day.

In the middle of all those events, giveaways, conversations, and planning meetings, something else happened: I began to believe in myself. Every time I voiced my opinion in a meeting, every time a coworker cheered on my ideas, every time a member engaged eagerly with the initiative, the version of myself that believed I had nothing valuable to contribute became a little less convincing.

I used to think that leaders were people who walked into rooms already confident, already qualified, already assured. What I’m learning instead is that leadership often occurs long before confidence arrives. Sometimes it begins with shaky hands, unsteady breaths, and pushing past fear.

“Bee the Change” started as a sustainability initiative, but in many ways, it also became a reflection of my own growth—proof that change rarely happens all at once. Becoming the 2026 CU Ambassador both thrills and terrifies me. The same doubts creep in, making me question whether I have what it takes to represent this role well. But if the last two years have taught me anything, it’s this: fear does not get the final say.

I was scared, and I did it anyway.

Originally published in the August 2026 edition of CU Edge