"...He prayeth well, who loveth well, Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best, All things both great and small;
for the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all..."

The Rime of the Anchient Mariner -Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Skill Sets

Chapt 2.3
When I originally applied to the Peace Corps, I didn't do too much homework about the programs and countries. I was more concerned about whether my skill sets would be useful to the PC, rather than really figuring out what I would love to do in PC.

Bad idea? Maybe. I had been (and am) volunteering w/ the Lions Club, 1-on-1 literacy tutoring, and occasionally at my church's soup kitchen. I'm also bilingual (English/Spanish). Based on that, I applied for 1. Education, 2. Environment, and 3. Community Development.

I was nomiated for an Enironmental Education project (which thrills me) in Latin America departing in SEPT! But now that's I've working through peacecorp.gov's country and work area maps, I'm kind of remiss that I didn't ask or hint at an assignment in the Pacific Islands for marine conservation (think coral reefs) or natural resource management...after all, my degree is in Marine & Environmental Science!

Looking on peacecorpsWiki.com, I see all the possiblities of Environment projects departing in Sept. FIJI is on the list (but not high up).#1 is PERU.

I would love to be able to exercize my degree in a practical setting/manner. Plus, it would set the stage for my future graduate studies; the University of Idaho offers a great Environmental Studies graduate program & I'm planning to take the GRE before transitioning from the military (and the Post 9/11 GI bill will pay for it).

Oh, the opportunities are endless. A friend once told me, 'you got to make things happen.' If you keep doing the same thing, you're going to keep getting what you've always gotten. I also remember teh Sister Hazel song that says, 'if you want to be someone else, you got to change your mind.' Thus, I set foot in the Real world....where economies are bad, people go w/out health insurance, and the struggle to survive is very real.

1 comment:

  1. Good luck with the application process. It is long and annoying, but once you've been nominated and passed the med part it's just a matter of time. Maybe we'll be seeing you in Nicaragua, too. Our ENV volunteers come in about that time...

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