A little bit about myself and the application process… I am now
24 years old. I graduated from The
University of Michigan in 2010 with a Bachelors of Science in
Architecture. After struggling to find a
job in my profession the summer after graduating I started to look elsewhere for
exciting opportunities. Opportunities
that would allow me to gain valuable work experience and that would help me
reach my goals in the future. The Peace
Corps was exactly that, along with a few other perks like helping those who are
less fortunate, the chance to experience a completely different culture, and
the opportunity to explore new places.
The process of applying to the Peace Corps was a long one
for myself. Initially I was torn whether
or not to apply because the PC does not offer a specific architecture or
construction program. The second program
that I was interested in was the environmental program, but knew that I didn’t
quite fulfill the requirements. So I hadn’t
made up my mind until early fall of 2011 to start the application process. Turned in my application and had an interview,
to only be told that I fell short of the qualifications that they were looking
for. So the PC asked if I could gain
some additional experience in the field of environment and of course I said
yes, but I was a little unsure what type and how much more experience I would
need. Being that it was now the middle
of winter and not much was growing I was a little apprehensive as to how much
experience I could really get. Luckily
for me I live next to an amazing garden called Dow Gardens. Every year they have butterflies in bloom, so
I helped care for butterflies. I also
volunteered as an assistant to one of their arborists. So as I continued to get valuable experiences
throughout the winter and into the spring the PC sent me a nomination to serve
in Sub-Saharan Africa with a tentative departure date of February/March 2013
with the Agriculture Extension program.
The next step in the process was to fill out all of the
required medical and dental forms. It
took awhile for me to get an appointment, but by the time I was finished
filling out all of the medical and dental forms in June, I had other good
news. I had just been hired at Wigen
Tincknell Meyer and Associates, an architecture firm located in Saginaw,
Michigan. I was very excited about this
job and not knowing if I would be invited to serve in the Peace Corps I had
gladly accepted the job. Then I received
a phone call in late July, which was a little unexpected, asking if I was still
interested and wanted to be sent an invitation.
Being that the Peace Corps website was going to be down for a few weeks
they explained that they could either send an invitation that day or wait until
their website was back up and send the invitation in late August. I explained my situation and told them I was
still interested in joining the PC but would like some more time to consider my
two options. They were understanding and
explained that they would send the invitation in late August. True to their word they sent my invitation on
August 31st at 3:40pm (cutting it a little close) to serve in Malawi
as a Natural Resource Management Extension Volunteer.
Our group would not be departing until March 4-5 so I had
plenty of time to start thinking about packing.
But along with starting to pack I was kept very occupied trying to make
the most of my experience at WTM, which I greatly enjoyed. The time flew by and now with just a few more
days in the States the start of this journey is almost happening! I can’t wait for what is to come and I look
forward to every second of it, both the challenging times and the fun! I will miss being with family and friends,
but look forward to making new ones. And
until I see you after this journey please feel free to send letters and care
packages to remind me of home or come visit me in Malawi.
