Embrace Employee Spotlight: Anna Smith and Sangress Xiong

There’s a lot to love about Embrace Home Loans, but one of our strongest assets has always been our employees. We have teammates who have been with us for 10, 20, even 30+ years. And we’ve also been hiring new employees at a furious pace recently.

In this Employee Spotlight, we’ll be featuring two Embrace teammates — one new employee, and one employee who has already been with us for a while. Each will give different perspectives on the Embrace experience and a little more personal info so you’ll be able to get to know them better.

Want to nominate someone to feature in a future spotlight? Email Mary Mack at [email protected]

SANGRESS XIONG, Closing Officer

What is your official title and what do you do at Embrace?

My official title is Closing Officer.

What made you want to work at Embrace?

I wanted to work at Embrace so I could learn more about the mortgage banking industry and I also loved the culture and the people at Embrace.

How has it been starting a new job at Embrace?

I worked virtually during COVID, so coming into the office has been a change of pace. I’m enjoying the ease of being able share ideas with a coworker rather than chatting over Teams and email, but I can do without the traffic. Overall I’m enjoying utilizing my skills at Embrace and performing my duties.

What did you do for a living before you came to Embrace?

Before Embrace I was working as a curative specialist at a title company where I would gather the necessary documents to close a loan and perform bankruptcy/patriot searches on borrowers.

We’d love to get to know you a little better! Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Minnesota, but I have lived in Rhode Island for the majority of my life. Right after high school I spent four years in the U.S Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd where I would jump out of airplanes. Some of my hobbies include hiking, biking, camping, sports, weight lifting, and stocks trading.

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ANNA SMITH, Senior Closing Officer

What is your official title and what do you do at Embrace?

I am a Senior Closing Officer.

How long have you worked for Embrace?

I started in Reception on August 25, 2015 — almost six years!

What made you want to work at Embrace?

I’d recently left a job, liked the work but the boss/ management was not ideal. Heard about an opening at Embrace through a friend and jumped at the opportunity. I had heard great things about Embrace, and they were all true!

What’s one of your favorite Embrace memories?

This may sound a bit cheesy, but honestly, being a Navy brat and moving around so much, this is the longest relationship (outside of family) that I have ever had. So really, just having a place to make memories is amazing.

How was it working from home for most of this year? Did Embrace make it easier for you in any way?

I just started back in the office three days a week. I like working from home, it’s nice not dealing with the anxiety-inducing drive on East Main Road and never forgetting lunch at home. When I came back though, the joy of seeing friends and co-workers energized me and I didn’t realize how big of a hole it created being in isolation. Who knew I would miss small talk!

We’d love to get to know you a little better! Tell us about yourself.

I bought my first home in beautiful Island Park in Portsmouth, RI a little over three years ago and I have an adorable dog named Pepper. My father was a Naval Pilot, so I spent the majority of my early childhood moving around Southern California and then we moved to Washington State to an island in Puget Sound. I moved to RI with my family two days before Hurricane Bob hit, and that was quite the welcoming party.

After graduating from NYU with a degree in French Literature, I taught English in France for a year and then moved back to Aquidneck Island. I helped start The Bit Players, a Newport-based, award-winning improv comedy group — get tickets!!!