The international flights behind them, the young professionals who participated in a weeklong learning experience in Brazil have had a chance to reflect on what they learned.

Fourteen credit union representatives spent last week as part of the World Council of Credit Unions' Young Professional Exchange in Curitiba, Brazil.

The group spent time with representatives from SICREDI—a financial cooperative that allows credit unions to share branding, back office services, a common information technology platform, and accounting systems—and visited several branches to see how the credit unions serve their members and communities and also attended the SICREDI Youth Summit, a two-day event that brought together 150 credit union leaders, young professionals and members to explore the challenges facing financial cooperatives.

Kristin Ryan, CUNA’s director of learning events and lead for the CUNA Young Professionals Committee, and Blair Wolston, part of the financial services team at $778 million asset VSECU in Montpelier, Vt., and president of the Credit Union Young Professionals of Vermont, were involved in the exchange.

They provided CUNA News with daily updates about their experience in Brazil.

A week after returning from the Southern Hemisphere, Ryan and Wolston recorded one last video dispatch about what they took away from the experience.

► Visit CUNA News for more coverage of the World Council of Credit Unions Young Professional Exchange in Curitiba, Brazil.