Kindness at the Core: Meet Madi Van Gilst
Madi Van Gilst, relationship banker at Leighton State Bank, seeks to interact with customers and coworkers with attentiveness and kindness. She says kindness makes any situation better, as you never know what someone may be going through. Van Gilst helps customers open a variety of accounts at the bank, and outside of work, she keeps just as much variety. She enjoys traveling to different countries, going to all different kinds of concerts, playing softball and pickleball, and even travels the state playing the steel drum with her alumni steel drum band. 
What’s something ABOUT YOUR ROLE PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EXPECT?
How often people still come into the bank. Even in the digital age we live in, we still have several customers that stop in every single day. At our branches that have ATMs, we definitely see this from the usage of our ATMs. Another surprise customers have when they come to our bank is how many different products we have to offer. Whether they start off as a retail customer, a loan customer, or on our investments side; customers can open a variety of different accounts at our bank.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?
Even when times get tough, you can always still be kind. Whether it’s a team member or a customer, being kind will always make the situation better. You never know what someone else may be going through, so taking the time to listen and be kind to them may make their day (even if just a little bit) better. “Have courage, and be kind.” Have the courage to stand up for others, and be kind to one another.
If you could wake up tomorrow with one extraordinary talent, what would you choose?
I would love to become a Polyglot master. This is someone who effortlessly learns, speaks, and intuitively grasps grammar structures for dozens of languages. As someone who has traveled to several countries, and lived abroad for an extended period of time as well, this would be an extremely helpful talent to have. I studied English in college and earned my TESOL certification (Teaching English as a Second Oral Language); learning about the linguistics of different languages fascinates me.
what’s an interesting or lesser-known fact about you?
I’ve been involved in music since I was very young, so I’ve come to love all sorts of music. I’m a huge fan of K-Pop, and I recently saw one of the biggest trending bands in the industry, BTS, in concert in Tampa.
What do you do outside of work to recharge?
Between my job at LSB and my part-time job, I try to relax as much as possible. Whether that’s vegging out at home, planning my next vacation, visiting my grandfathers, playing pickleball or softball during the summer, reading a good book, or playing games with family and friends.