The Path So Far

Alright, now I guess I will take you through the ridiculous process that I went through to join the Peace Corps. Let me just preface this by saying that this was mostly due to extra ordinary events, and that most applications and what not go through relatively smoothly.

I began working on my application in August of 2007. After filling out the very long application and getting my recommendations in order, I sent it in to the Peace Corps. They say that if you want to join the Peace Corps, you should be sending in the application between 9 months and a year before you want to leave. I decided to be safe and turn it in a year before my set availability for departure.

After applying came a bit of a wait. I didn't hear anything for a few months. After calling the Peace Corps office a few times, I got through to Shannon Small. She told me at that point that she would be at the U of R in a week, and I could have an interview at that point. This kind of freaked me out. After months of nothing, this seemed out of nowhere.

So, I had the interview at the University of Rochester. I had a very good time. Shannon was great and brought up a lot of good points I didn't even think about. She talked about the isolation of the Peace Corps, the difficulty of inspiring change within a community, and also how my race may affect my time there. Anyways, the interview went very well, and she told me she would call me in a few days.

Again, this was ridiculously quick compared to the amount of time I waited up to this point. I got a call a couple of days later. Shannon told me that she wanted to nominate me for a placement in the Dominican Republic if I learned a relatively high level of Spanish by then. Thinking I could just take advantage of the free classes through the UofR that I got at the Mt. Hope Family Center, I accepted the invitation.

After starting the intermediate class that I needed to take to qualify, I quickly realized that I was in WAY over my head! The teacher was teaching the class solely in Spanish! So, that wasn't going to work... I decided to be honest with Shannon Small and told her that I didn't think I would be able to get to that level in time. She understood and said she would try to find something else with not so high a language requirement.

She called me a few days later with another opportunity! I could go to a tiny Island, also in the Caribbean called Dominica. I was incredibly excited with the nomination. I then began the long process of Clearances. I had to go through a legal, medical and dental screening as well as submit some more paperwork. The Medical clearance is traditionally difficult and mine proved to be no different. I had to send it back a couple of times to finally answer all of Peace Corps questions.


After another few months, I finally got my invitation for Dominica. After that, my brother and I decided to take a last minute trip to Europe together to spend some quality time before I left. As the time for my trip got closer, I got more and more nervous because I would only have a week after I got back from Europe to get everything packed and ready to go. Just before I left, my placement officer (now Brian Melman) gave me a surprise call. He told me that two of the expert trainers in Dominica quit, and that they had to peel off a whole group of Peace Corps members from the upcoming training, and I was one of the ones to go. He immediately offered me another position... in the Dominican Republic. At this point you should be as confused as I was. Turns out, it somehow got in my file that I actually completed the Spanish course, and that I was qualified to go there. I told Brian that this actually wasn't the case. He told me that he would then look into it.

A few hours later Brian called back and said that I now have a few options: I could go to Dominica a year later, I could still go to the Dominican Republic because they would waive the language requirement for me due to my other qualifications, Or I could wait till Dec and go to Guinea (North West Africa)! Now, I have to say, this rarely happens. I was very fortunate to get a choice.

So, here were my thoughts... I didn't think I would be well quipped, language wise, for the Dominican Republic, and I would also have to leave the morning after I returned from Europe. Dominica would have been great, but I really couldn't wait the whole year. Turns out that I already put in for my two week notice at work and they already found my replacement. That left me with Guinea. The placement couldn't be more perfect. I really wanted to work with Public Health, and I really wanted to go to one of the African Countries Peace Corps works with. It also turns out to be more of that Peace Corps experiences you would expect, no electricity, pumping your own water, mosquito nets, and whatnot.


After having a conversation with my brother and parents, we all decided this would be the best place for me. So, I called Brian and let him know my decision. After that, it was mostly a long wait. The Mt. Hope Family Center was good enough to find work for me to do, and Now I am about 2 weeks away from my departure! So that's how it all went down. If there is anyone thinking about joining, please feel free to contact me with any questions. I am now filled with advice about the process.