Life is changing and in flux. I always seem to be planning some new adventure and journey to expand my world view. The next big adventure…Peace Corps. After much thought and consideration on the different directions I could take in life, this seemed to be the best fit. Traveling, meeting new people, and doing what I could for a community.
The process for joining the Peace Corps is a journey in its self. I hit submit on my application December 28, 2010. Within a week I received a packet with a finger print card and legal paperwork, which I promptly completed and returned. My recruiter called my a week or so later to discuss my application. Now I am a girl of many skills having my degree in Communication Design, worked in IT for a bit, and a variety of certifications in the medical field, so it caught me off guard when my recruiter said I only qualified for an ESL teaching position, and she would like me to gain more experience in this area before I interviewed.
As I mentioned earlier after considering many options I was convinced Peace Corps was a fit for me, so I took my recruiter’s advice and pursued ESL volunteer experience, though also mentioned I would like her to double check that ESL was the only thing I was qualified for. I quickly started volunteering for a local ESL organization and notified my recruiter I was gaining experience. She originally wanted to wait three months until she interviewed me, but then changed her mind and set up an interview with me that week!
The interview went well, I gave all honest answers, and seemed to have a good connection with my recruiter. She told me she would get back to me in March (this is the end of January), and to be patient. To my surprise the next Monday I have a voice mail from my recruiter saying she had great news. A nomination had come up for a health care position in Africa departing in September, and she thought I would be a great fit (it turns out I was qualified for more then just ESL). And so I moved on to the next step in the Peace Corps journey…Medical Clearance.
