Forty Under 40: Katelyn Huddleston

Math was never Katelyn Huddleston’s strong suit. She planned to be an English teacher.

Originally from Claremore, Okla., Huddleston worked as a teller in 2005 in Arvest’s Pryor, Okla., branch to put herself through Northeastern State University. Surprisingly, she fell in love with banking and never looked back, putting her education on pause. She worked full time as a financial service representative, assistant manager and branch manager over the next few years.

“I’ve always had a passion for people, relationships and communication,” she said. “Through Arvest, I discovered that while there are numbers involved in banking, the more important part is the relationship with my clients.”

Observing how happy and appreciative mortgage customers were as they bought their “first home or their forever home,” she became a mortgage lender with Arvest in Tulsa, Okla., in 2011, and transferred to Northwest Arkansas in 2016.

Huddleston said her dream of communicating with English students morphed into communicating with clients, helping them through the home loan process. She tries to “develop the perfect client experience” by streamlining the process to keep them involved. “We try to be a support system through communication,” she said.

In 2019 she led Arvest in mortgage volume for the four-state region, closing over $50 million. She credits her success to her strong internal desire to succeed and her God-given purpose to serve her clients and her staff of three.

Huddleston partnered with Waco Title Co. to create a virtual open house platform and co-founded NWA Women in Real Estate (WIRE) this year. She finished her degree last year through John Brown University’s online program.

Huddleston and her husband are expecting their first child, due in January.