Corps de la Paix

A few weeks ago I took my first concrete steps towards something I've been planning and thinking about for over a year...I submitted my official application for the Peace Corps. Last week I got a letter from my recruiter and I scheduled my official interview for February 7th. It's exciting to see things finally happening, especially since I worked on that application piece by piece for over 6 months. If all goes well I could be living in a completely different culture in less than a year!

To people who know me well this probably doesn't come as much of a surprise (in fact most of you suspected I would do something crazy like this and would have been more shocked if I hadn't)...but I know this decision is going to catch more than a few people off guard. If you want to ask me questions about the peace corps or my decision to join or if you just want to tell me I'm crazy feel free to comment or email me. To save everyone time, here are some of the answers to the questions I hear the most often...

Why do you want to join the Peace Corps?
To have fun, to learn something, to meet new people, to see the world....pick a reason! This is the essay I wrote for my application to answer the same question:

Why do I want to join the Peace Corps? This is a question I’ve had to answer thousands of times from all of my friends and family, and I don’t think I’ve answered it the same way twice. Sometimes I tell them its because I want to see the world, sometimes its because I want to give something back, and sometimes its because I want to test myself and push myself out of my comfort zone. I think all of these reasons are true, but I believe more than anything else my desire to join the Peace Corps stems from my desire to learn. I don’t just want to see the world; I want to learn about another culture by becoming a part of it. I don’t just want to give something back; I want to learn how I can be a better citizen of our global community. I don’t just want to test myself; I want to learn more about who I am and what I want out of life.
I don’t want to be finished learning just because I’m finished with college and joining the Peace Corps seems to be the next logical step in my educational journey. I think I’ve had enough of classrooms for now, although someday I’d like to go back and earn my Masters degree. Looking back, I find that the most effective and important lessons I’ve learned in life haven’t been out of a textbook in a classroom, they’ve been in real world situations and contexts. Volunteering in the Peace Corps would give me an opportunity to learn new skills, a new language and a new way of life in the most effective way: through experience.


Don't you need to get a real job out of college so you can build your resume?
First of all I hate the term "real job" because it generally refers to something that involves a desk or staring at a computer screen all day. If that's the case I hope to never get a "real job," I'd rather have a "fake job" that keeps me outside and active...even if it does pay a little less.
As far as a resume goes, I'm confident that I could get a very good "real job" upon graduation, but I think two years with the Peace Corps would provide me with a whole new skill set that would be just as valuable on a resume as anything I could get sitting behind a desk.

Where do you want to go?
Ideally? Niger. However, in the Peace Corps you don't choose your country, they select one for you based on where your skills and interests could be best used. I would be happy with a placement anywhere in Africa, South America or some crazy remote island. The places I'm least interested in are in Asia and Eastern Europe.

What do you want to do?
Anything and everything. I know that my exercise science major and my outdoor ed minor mean I'll most likely do something with health or the environment, but I think Agriculture would be really cool too. I'd love to learn more about farming techniques and food production especially in countries without the access to technology that we have here in America.

What are you going to do until you leave?
Since it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year before I leave I'm in the process of applying for an Outdoor Recreation position on McGuire AFB back home in NJ. I'm also looking at personal training jobs on base as a back up plan. I'll also be working on accumulating Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for my ACSM Health and Fitness Instructor certification so that it won't expire while I'm overseas.

What are you going to do when you get back?
Really, you want me to predict where I'll be in 4 years? I'm not sure... I'd love to get a masters in Physical Activity in Outdoor Environments...maybe I'll move to Colorado and start my own adventure fitness business...maybe I'll get an apartment in Washington DC and work at a gym...maybe the travel channel will offer to pay me to travel the world for the rest of my life (I can dream, right?).