Finding out she was set to be featured for Employee Spotlight this month was quite a shock to Kelley, who initially replied, “did I lose a bet?” Her disbelief evident, the selection comes as no surprise to those around her. Not only is she truly funny without trying to be, but her positive energy is an inspiration. “Kelley is awesome! Extremely funny and intelligent, she’s always willing to lend a hand and share her knowledge regardless of how crazy our days get. You couldn’t ask for a better coworker and friend,” says Brandon Barnett.
Hailing from Pittsburgh PA, where they “use words like ‘Yins.’ (Don’t even ask me what it means,” she went on to study at Syracuse University in upstate New York. “The key word there is ‘upstate,’” Bengel exclaimed. “It was 30 below zero up there! I could have gone anywhere. Anywhere. I chose frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere.
She admittedly shies away from the spotlight, spending 20 years in IT, before making the move to recruiting. “Sonia was difficult to convince that I would be a good recruiter. Somehow she got the idea that IT people are more or less socially inept and nowhere near friendly enough to be recruiters. I fought her on it until she finally relented and got me an interview with Fisch, which I had to do from inside an IT inventory closet on the 27th floor of the Cosmopolitan where I was working at the time. It was a seven-month process to get hired.”
It’s been over 2 years since Bengel joined the Crescent family and Sonia is still overjoyed with her decision. “Kelley is an amazing partner to have. She is the ying to my yang. She always says ‘you can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute!’ I’ll ride down any chute with her any time, the ride will always be fun and the success will be amazing!!”
When speaking about her home life, she notes that she lives a very simple life. “Just ask my wife. No kids, two cats, a giant dog. No humor. We do, however, eat a lot of Thai food to compensate. It has the spice this old cow town lacks. If only there were things to do in Vegas. Look at the attached picture. Even my cats agree.”
