Niki Charalambous started her career in banking before taking time out to raise her children. Nine years ago she returned to the working world and joined Community Credit Union (CCU), quickly warming to credit union life.
“I like it a lot better. It’s more homey. You know your customers, you know everything about them, all their problems,” she said.
Beginning at Community Credit Union as a teller, over the past decade she became head teller, then a customer service manager before taking on her current role of branch manager of CCU’s Peabody branch.
But her path wasn’t always so smooth. She was born in Cyprus; when civil war broke out there in the early 1970s, her family was forced to flee their home. They lived without a roof over their heads for months before an uncle based in Salem, Mass., was able to sponsor them to come to the United States. Charalambous arrived in the U.S. at age 12 in 1974, not speaking a word of English, but with the help of ESL classes and a lot of hard work, managed to transfer to mainstream classes within two years, later graduating from Peabody High School and North Shore Community College.
James Burke, an attorney in private practice in Peabody, first met Charalambous through their shared work with the Peabody Chamber of Commerce, and was impressed with her drive and determination, and her willingness to give back to the town.
“Coming from the background she had in Cyprus, to get to the point where she is, I don’t know how many people could do it,” he said. It would be easy to understand if someone who had faced such hardships early on in life felt a bit of self-pity – but that’s not Charalambous’ way, Burke said.
“She’s all about ‘What can I do for somebody else?’” he said.
Currently, she sits on the Peabody Chamber of Commerce and also takes an active role with the Peabody Education Foundation, a group that helps raise money local teachers in need of classroom materials. Charalambous also helps represent CCU at local charitable events, such as the North Shore Community Coalition and Citizens for Adequate Housing’s Build Day 2014.
But Charalambous said one of the most important ways she gives back is through helping her members, who often reach out to her with financial and other difficulties.
“A lot of them don’t speak English, and they don’t have anybody to help them pay their bills, [or] make a phone call to Verizon. So I help them out. To them it’s very helpful, even though to me it might take five minutes out of my day,” she explained.
After all, she said, “Somebody helped me out once, and it’s good to give back.”
Charalambous lives with her husband and daughter in Peabody.
