By JOSELYN KING

WHEELING — Colleen Megna, banking center manager for WesBanco, says those most poised for success are those asking questions.

“If I were asked to give advice to a young woman starting out in my field, I would tell her to ask questions. At least 50% of the people in the room are thinking the same thing you are, but they’re afraid to ask,” Megna said. “You will be seen as someone who is engaged and eager to learn.”

She would also advise “that it’s the people who matter most.”

“So many people are intimidated dealing with money and finances,” Megna continued. “We see people getting scammed and losing money because they are afraid to come in and ask for help.

“When you’re dealing with someone who is struggling with understanding their finances or how to budget their money and you take the time to teach them, with compassion and without judgment, you’re going to give them confidence in their ability to take care of themselves and their family. Showing compassion and taking time to help them will provide them with lifelong tools to help them gain financial freedom,” she said.

Megna has been the banking center manager at WesBanco Bank’s corporate headquarters in downtown Wheeling for 25 years.

“In my role, I am responsible for generating new business for our Banking Center, both corporate and consumer,” she said. “I source business and consumer loans as well as deposit accounts.”

Megna is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the banking center and manages a staff of 22.

“A big part of my job is mentoring my staff and providing them with the support necessary to perform their jobs,” she said. “I am in the process of transitioning to a new position within the bank. I will keep the same title, but I will be working with all of the banking centers in the Upper Ohio Valley. I will provide support to help keep the Banking Centers running as smoothly as possible.”

Megna has been on the board of the Sexual Assault Help Center for almost 10 years. Additionally, she has served on the board for Kings Daughters. She is a member of the Local School Improvement Council for Ritchie Elementary School and a member of Our Lady of Peace Church, where she serves as a money counter.

She helps with the food and clothing giveaways at the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple and volunteers with Young Life.

A widow, Megna was married for 32 years before her husband died in June 2020. She has two adult daughters: Hannah Megna, 30, is an adjunct college professor who most recently taught at Ohio University in Athens; Emily Myers, 27, works for Young Life and the Olive Garden.

“I could not be prouder of my children,” Megna said. “They are amazing human beings. They are truly a blessing.”

Megna noted that early on, she learned the key to management was not expecting employees to work and do things the same way she would.

“When I was newly promoted to a management position, I was responsible for completing employee annual reviews,” she noted. “Since I was new, my supervisor reviewed them before I presented them to my employees. She made changes to every single one. She gently told me that I was reviewing every employee’s performance as if I were doing that job.

“She taught me a very valuable lesson — that everyone is different. Everyone does not have my skill set or work ethic. Our role as managers and mentors is to learn our team members’ strengths and help them develop and use those strengths to perform their job to the best of their ability so they can be successful in their careers.”

Megna noted that when she started in banking, most of the managers and all of the executives were men.

“Times have really changed. Now, most of our banking center managers and office managers are women,” she said. “We have several executive and senior vice presidents who are women, and those numbers just keep increasing. We have some amazing women in senior leadership positions within WesBanco. We have a very strong culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“I am confident that we will have a woman in the CEO position in the not-too-distant future.”

Megna had initially wanted to be an attorney.

“After I graduated from Bethany College in 1986, I decided to take a break from school, despite the fact that I had already taken the LSAT (Law School Aptitude Test) and applied to law schools. I told my parents that I would go to law school in a few years.”

But after moving to Wheeling and getting married in 1988, she needed a job. A family member who worked at the bank encouraged her to apply for a job, and she was first hired as a teller.

By December of that year, she was promoted to personal banker and would go on to achieve other promotions.

Originally from Cleveland, Megna finds the Ohio Valley to be much different.

“I love living here. The sense of community is amazing,” she said. “I have been so fortunate to meet so many wonderful people.

“Because of the size of Wheeling, I rarely go anywhere where I do not know anyone.

“My kids have always joked that everyone in the Ohio Valley is either related to them or that they do work at WesBanco or they have at some point worked for WesBanco. They’re probably not wrong.”