2020 Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Emerging Woman of Influence: Nataliya Boychenko

Nataliya Boychenko read somewhere that if you want to know what the purpose of your life is, go back to what you played with when you were between 3 and 5 years old.

As a young girl growing up in Ukraine, Boychenko recalls, she enjoyed doing two things: teaching her stuffed animals and pretending to be an international businesswoman.

“I was calling from room to room, pretending to be in England and calling someone in France. I would spend hours doing that, ”she said.

Fast forward 30 years, she still teaches – although this time as an assistant professor at Drake University – and is currently one of the youngest shareholders of Holmes Murphy & Associates.

Boychenko first visited Iowa as a freshman on an exchange to Rockwell City-Lytton High School, where she attended classes for six weeks.

“I thought I could do anything [in the U.S.]. I thought you could work hard and you could make all your dreams come true. … I always wanted to be independent and wanted to help others, ”she said.

Upon her return to Ukraine, she immediately knew that she wanted to return to the United States for college.

“My mother told me that when she came to pick me up at the airport, she asked me how the trip went and I said to her: ‘Mum, I don’t know how and I don’t know. not when, but I’m going back. ‘”

She returned to the United States to attend Des Moines Area Community College at the age of 17 to begin studying on a path that would lead to a career in banking and insurance.

Boychenko comes from a banking family – his mother, stepfather and older sister all worked in the industry. She loved working with numbers, so following in their footsteps she started out working at Wells Fargo, first as a cashier, then in personal banking.

She realized that she preferred to work with people, on the services side of the industry. Boychenko reached out to one of her mentors, financial advisor Mike Bean, who put her in touch with Steve Flood, then head of benefits at Holmes Murphy. She has since worked at Holmes Murphy for 14 years.

Boychenko considers mentoring to be a big part of his life. Anyone who is successful has had a ton of people supporting and believing them, she said. “There are so many of these people in my life, and I’m so grateful for their influence on me. ”

In turn, she believes her goal is to be this source of mentorship and inspiration for others, and has since mentored dozens of people.

“It’s fun to hear different points of view. As much as they learn from me, so much I learn from them, ”she said. “Every person you meet is a teacher or a student, and you have to find out what they are. You can still learn and you can still teach.

THREE AREAS OF INFLUENCE
1. Boychenko serves as a mentor in Holmes Murphy’s Women Optimizing Women program, which supports young women within the company. “I like to guide women. I am still forging links with the younger generations.

2. Boychenko has been an Assistant Professor at Drake University for four years. She is currently teaching a course in the affairs of politics and health care as part of a graduate seminar.

3. Boychenko represents Holmes Murphy & Associates as a mentor in the Global Insurance Accelerator program, helping to coach young insurance companies.