Employee Spotlight: Becky Pribula

Above: BCBSND VP of Finance and Strategic Investments Becky Pribula (front right) pictured with her family.

In this employee spotlight, we feature Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) VP of Finance and Strategic Investments Becky Pribula.

What brought her to Blue
Becky joined Blue a year after she graduated college. She joined the Finance department and has held various roles in her 26 years with Blue. When she first applied, she heard about BCBSND’s great work culture and benefits. They initially drew her to Blue, but as time went by, the opportunities she found and friendships she made kept her coming back day in and day out.

“Being here for 26 years, I've been able to work in various areas, learn and try out lots of opportunities,” Becky shared.

The skills she brings to Blue
Becky is a curious person by nature. She’s always wanted to know and understand how things work. In each of the different roles she’s held, she’s enjoyed understanding the why behind the work and the perspective of others.

“I like to understand the connection of the work I'm doing, and how it connects to our company vision and mission,” said Becky. “Understanding that always makes my work feel more meaningful.”

A typical day at Blue
As vice president of Finance and Strategic Investment, Becky oversees many different areas in Finance and is our relationship manager for our partner enGen. 

A typical day includes attending a variety of meetings on a breadth of topics. One of the best ways Becky stays organized and proactive is by prioritizing and reprioritizing her days at the start of the week and even throughout the week. This gives her the freedom she needs to stay on task and fully digest the topics at hand.

“One of the things most people think of when they hear Finance is ‘Oh, they do the numbers and spreadsheets.’ But we really have a unique view of the operations of the company so we’re involved in a lot of different initiatives. You really need to able to shift throughout the day,” she shared.

What Becky likes best about #LifeAtNDBlue
In her time at Blue, the best part has been the people she gets to work with and the opportunity to try different things and learn new skills saying, “There's so many great people here that I work with, whether in my team or across the company. That's what really makes working here special.”

Although the variety of work may be intimidating, Becky sees it as a positive since it’s opened new doors to her career and kept her on a path of continuous learning.

“I think one of the best parts of my career at Blue is you never get bored. There's always an opportunity to look at something different or become a part of another team and learn something new. I really like all the opportunities that exist,” Becky shared.

What she hopes to take away from Blue
The first thing she believes she’ll take away from Blue are the friendships saying, “When you work for a company for 26 years, you make a lot of long-term friendships. Even people I've worked with that have left the company keep in touch because we share a lot of the same values, which is what creates and makes those friendships over time.”

Becky really appreciates the care and collaboration she’s seen at Blue. “Over the years, it's been amazing to see how employees pull together to help families and individuals out. It's amazing to be part of that and see how much everyone cares,” she shared.

A big lesson she’ll take away is that it’s okay to fail. She’s had leaders talk her through that lesson and help her be able to say that it's okay to fail as long as you learn from it and move forward. 

“You take that lesson with you and it helps you grow and learn,” said Becky. “As a leader, that's one of the things I like to focus on. If someone makes a mistake, let's learn from it and figure out how to move forward and do it better. Knowing you have that support just takes away the fear and grows trust.”