Jan. 24, 2023

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Alyssa Bainbridge, HR specialist at Voyage Federal Credit Union and recent winner of the emerging HR professional of the year award from the Sioux Empire Society for Human Resource Management.

Name: Alyssa Bainbridge

Age: 27

Hometown: Paullina, Iowa

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I wanted something new/different after graduating college from Iowa State in 2018. My brother lived here and convinced me that Sioux Falls is a great place to live with lots of career opportunities. Sometimes brothers are right.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

There is an abundance of opportunities to grow professionally and personally here. I love being able to meet and connect with so many people in different aspects of my life: fitness enthusiasts, other HR professionals and new friends. Also, I love that it is spread out enough that it doesn’t make it feel like a large, crowded city.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

The people I work with truly make it easy to want to come to work every day. On top of that, Voyage has never had an HR department before, so it is fun to implement new tools/ideas that the organization has never had before. One of my biggest projects was researching and executing a new payroll system that centralized timesheets, PTO, benefits, employee pay information, etc.

How did you get connected to your industry?

My grandma had a big influence on my interest in the HR industry. She was the HR manager at her organization for about 30 years before her recent retirement. I began my HR career as a recruiter. I knew I wanted to influence employees during their entire employment life cycle, not stop at recruitment. The highly dynamic industry keeps me learning, motivated and inspired to want to do more.

Describe your workplace in three words.

Evolving, friendly, flexible.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I have a passion for the fitness industry. It all started in 2017 when I wanted to lose body fat for a vacation on the beach as my college graduation present from my mom. I noticed a lot of changes in my body and fell in love with the process.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

I enjoy hand-delivering goodies or doing a random act of kindness. It feels so much more impactful when there is some sort of personal interaction with those who receive the donation. During 2020, one of our community involvement committee initiatives was to deliver a gift to essential workers in town. It was so awesome to show them that they are appreciated, plus supporting our local community.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

Trader Joe’s! I am still surprised we do not have one here.

If you had $1 million to start a business, what kind of business would it be?

I would open up my own gym that would have a mixture of group classes for hot yoga, biking, boxing, etc. and open areas for any type of training such as CrossFit, weightlifting, cardio. A place that centralizes all of the fun ways to exercise.