It’s rare when a credit union employee is asked to serve as CEO after humble beginnings answering phones. It’s rarer still when that same employee turns down the CEO offer – twice.

Nicole Curtin had been working at Workers Credit Union for three weeks when her boss asked her to help manage the credit union’s annual fundraising campaign for the United Way of North Central Massachusetts.

Thirty years ago, Eugene Foley did not intend to work in banking for any significant length of time. He had his sights set on becoming a lawyer.

The effervescent Steve Jones, vice president for community development at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union in Lowell, may not have had a teller’s drawer for a bassinet. But he has practically grown up in the industry, being handed the reins to his first credit union less than a year after starting his first job after college.

In the 19 years Leo MacNeil has worked at HarborOne Credit Union, he has remained true to the credit union industry’s original mission.

When Edward Nunez speaks, students listen.

Anabela Pereira likes to tell people that she was born in the lobby of a credit union and raised on the teller line.

Donna Russo’s credit union career began in the 1980s at the now-closed Fitchburg Center for Brain Injured Children.

Before joining Workers Credit Union, Nancy Seguin worked in the manufacturing and wholesale industries. And there’s no doubt, she said, that the credit union world is “just a better fit for me.”

Culture shock: That’s what Paul Swart felt when he made the leap into the world of credit unions 12 years ago, joining Chelsea’s Metro Credit Union after spending 20 years at a traditional, bottom line-driven bank.