Fast 15: Jamie Claire Kiser

Jamie Claire Kiser knew at age 18 what she wanted to do professionally. While some students wander unmethodically into their undergraduate studies, Kiser had already created a road map for her career.

And, so far, it has gone as planned. At age 27, she works as a high-level commercial credit analyst for Arvest Bank.

Kiser earned a bachelor’s degree (2008) in history and a law degree (2010) from the University of Arkansas. But she never intended to become a historian or a lawyer.

Sure, she practiced law for a brief time before she landed a finance job, but it was never her intention to continue on that path.

She majored in history as an undergraduate because, with a long academic career before her, she wanted to study something she truly enjoyed.

Kiser was hired at Arvest in January 2012 — about the time she started studying to earn her MBA — and has worked her way quickly up the corporate ladder.

She started as a level-I credit analyst, earned her business administration degree at UA in August 2013, and is now a level-III (the highest possible) analyst. She is also a manager, responsible for the junior credit analysts in Benton County.

But instead of considering herself accomplished, Kiser considers herself lucky.

More than anything, she is driven by a love of learning and the process of analyzing an issue and coming to a solution. “I am always engaged in what I’m doing and will stay until I’m done figuring it out,” she said. “Usually that means going down a few rabbit holes.”

And that usually means working late, which Kiser does almost every day. She also gets to the office at 7:30 a.m. and never takes a lunch. 

At first, she worked long hours because her financial background wasn’t strong and she wanted to go above and beyond so as to not pull the team down, she said. However, she soon realized how quickly her bosses and coworkers noticed her work ethic, and how much two extra hours in the office paid off.

Kiser loves the company, and plans to “stay in this community and keep doing what I’m doing and getting better at it.”

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and writes a blog called The Sparkle Kitchen.

She is also active in conservation efforts, serving on the board of directors for the Buffalo River Foundation, and she and her husband were recently named pet foster home of the year by the Humane Society of the Ozarks.