Marching Into The Peace Corps, pt 5: Present Credentials!
by If you’ve done any amount of reading about the Peace Corps’ requirements, you will know they tend to set the bar a little high. What do you do if you don’t have their credentials? You keep on trying!
It is one thing to give up nearly everything you own and feel like you’re in training for another part of the world, and it’s a different story when you realize that might not be enough. You see, the Peace Corps in some ways is a lot like Harvard University – hard to get in, and maybe hard to get thrown out. In some ways that’s good they don’t take in just any ole Joe Smith, but the bar looks a little high from where I’m standing.
Granted, this may be perception and not reality, but it’s hard to tell at this early stage of the game. It may also be a component of fear deep inside me that whispers, “You’ll never get in”. If I let that fear win, then two things will happen: I will never know exactly what I’m made of, and two, I will not experience what God has planned for me. I have more reasons to push forward than to slink backwards and admit defeat before the journey begins.
My early understanding of the ideal Peace Corps volunteer is as follows: in perfect health, perfect teeth, absolutely no credit other than student loans, a four-year college degree, or no degree and five years of volunteer work.
Those rules may be very hard and fast, but something tells me there is flexibility to be found. This is, after all, another group under the umbrella of the federal government, and it has employed the likes of other unqualified people like Michael Brown , Julie Meyers , James Haveman , Kenneth Tomlinson , and Steward Simonson . If these totally inept people who have cost human lives and inflicted suffering have landed high paying federal jobs, I should at the very least be qualified to work in a muddle puddle in the middle of nowhere for next to nothing.
I have to tell myself this or else I’d back down and walk away right now. I am a couple of classes shy of a four-year degree (I can’t seem to pass the math), and I have one year of community service. Since I became born again, I have given time, money, and supported people and groups. All one really needs to possess is a love for people and a desire to make a positive impact on the world. You don’t need a Ph.D. or be a Nobel Laureate to do that, but you need a servant’s heart and a passionate desire.
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Post CommentAdam
On May 29, 2008 at 11:59 am
Hi, I was just curious, how things are going with your goal of getting into the Peace Corps.
masika Henry
On September 8, 2008 at 9:58 am
My name is Masika Henry. I graduated from Kent State University, in Ohio, Last August. I obtained a Bachelors of Arts, major psychology, minor criminal justice, and a TEFL Certificate.
I cannot remember why or where I heard or thought of joining the Peace Corps. I applied in September of 2006 during my last year at my University.
My initial application, which is very lengthy, was accepted in a timely fashion and I was granted an interview about a month later. After the hour long interview with the recruiter for my area, he suggested that I should pick an area of interest and then get more volunteer experience. I initially picked HIV and AIDS awareness. I figured that trying to help people with a chronic illness and stigma would be most challenging for me. I then proceeded to find organizations that I could volunteer with. It was quit difficult, as I don’t have a skill to work that population. Most of the volunteer experience I could gain was not direct enough for the Peace Corps. I still did some volunteer work in that field though. I informed the Peace Corps recruiter of my dilemma and he then suggested getting certified with a TEFL, Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
I began searching ways to get certified and ran into an amazing program at my University, which pairs an overseas experience while teaching. I made this decision to do this program; it sounded like a great opportunity regardless which way the Peace Corps would take me. The recruiter completely encouraged me of doing this, as it would make me that much more of a competitive nominee. So we made the decision that it would be best to wait until June 2008 for me to go. I also took the advantage of my TESL organization and delegated a conversational coffee hour once a week as well as extracurricular activities for the TOEFL students.
During the time I was in Europe, from May-August 2007 they put my application on hold. I also must say that I do have a background. I was arrested in Florida on a Spring Break in 2005 for a drug charge. This did create some problems with the application process, but not that much. This was also why the recruiter suggested I wait until 2008. It is farther away from the arrest date etc…
Once I returned in August they sent me the Medical Package. This is an exhaustive examination regarding ones health. Every aspect of your health history is considered. After being away for almost four months and returning with no money and no health insurance, this was not an easy process. After much investigation I was able to get free medical insurance in my county based off of my income, which was and is next to nothing. I finally completed the health package at the end of May of 2008, knowing very well that I would not be leaving in June.
The entire process of the Peace Corps is very much unorganized. I was initially assigned a placement officer, a medical officer and some other random people that really never helped me out. My assigned medical officer, never answered his calls, it always went to voicemails. I felt lucky at one point to talk to a human being, and not get an answering machine. After they received the Medical Package, they sent more stuff back to me. Making me go to the Doctor again. They suspected I had asthma, bad circulation, due to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and I do suffer from a genetic eye disease. More delay! I also must say that I would consider myself to a relatively healthy person. In August I was finally medically clear.
A fill in placement officer, as my original was no longer there, informed me that I needed to complete more paper work. Re-writing my essays, completing a Professional Resume, and get one more references, even though I had submitted 4. I tried to conduct these request in a reasonable time. It took me about two to three weeks. At this point, I am wondering if this is worth it. I was so motivated in 2006 to dedicate EVERYTHING of my life to get into to the Peace Corps. After this two year process my morale decreased, as it would in any situation. The constant calling, emailing, working, putting forth effort, knowing that this could all be useless in the end. Many people would say that they would have given up by this point. I was struggling with letting go of something that I wanted so badly and that essentially does good things. I weighed the pro’s and con’s and realized that there were many more good things that will come of the Peace Corps than bad.
I also had to consider other options. I applied for many other teaching jobs all over the world. Rejecting Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Puerto Rico. I could not put all my eggs in one basket. It was very frustrating, because the Peace Corps has you in the frame of mind that you will be leaving with them from the time they accept you. Figuring out your finances and your expected departure month, But yet they discourage you from doing anything drastic, such as quitting your job.
Three weeks pass without hearing anything from the placement office. I wanted to call such a long time prior to when I finally did. I felt like I was so angry at the entire Peace Program and I did not want this frustration and anger to reflect my likelihood of getting in. I also felt like this is such a big commitment and I did not want to seem like I was rushing it. But once again it is now August of 2008 and I applied in September of 2006. So I called and vented. The individual I spoke with was very supportive and made me feel that I am not the only prospective volunteer that feels this way. She also informed me that this is the typical length of all applicants. She was definitely responsive and tentative toward my concerns. I also felt that the Peace Corps had decided months ago that I would not be the best candidate and did not want me, but made me go through the actions to satisfy some quota. I expressed this to her as I had expressed it before to someone, and she encouraged me to believe that this was not the case. I have already had many obstacles with my background. Not being able to find an adequate job and this mistake constantly haunting me. I feel like society has branded me a bad person because of one mistake. I don’t have anything else on my record. Either way ironically after I vented to this fill in placement person that same week the real placement person called me to do a phone interview.
She mainly asked me about my coping strategies while volunteering, my drug and alcohol usage, my expectations and my frustrations I had expressed to the previous individual. I Of course being the honest individual that I am told her exactly what I said to the first person. She responds with a comment like, you must realize that the Peace Corps is a unique experience and we only take the best of the best, and have you considered other options. I told her yes I have, I couldn’t risk something not working out with the Peace Corps and not having a plan B. She then expressed her opinion that maybe we should wait a week and then I can get back to her to see if this is still something I really want to do. I told her we could and should continue with the process. So now they have a Counselor do a Drug and alcohol assessment.
This was a two hour phone call, where they asked me how many times I had participated in any drug behavior, how many times, how frequently, for how many hours. Essentially they asked me how many times I drank, smoked or “drugged” since I was freshman in High School. It was a very frustrating phone conversation. Despite the intensity I felt like it went well. I am not an addict; I participate in drinking just as much as the average American. So this was three weeks ago. I have yet to hear anything from the Corps.
I now am in this weird position, with arrangements to take a paid teaching job at the end of the month. I feel like the Peace Corps really isn’t a non profit agency at all, but some cover up for the government. I feel like I am exactly what they are looking for; dedicated, hard working, responsible, adaptable, and willing to sacrifice two year so of my time away from my family to help and make a difference in a country that could benefit from my efforts. So I guess those qualities are not enough for the Peace Corps, I am not the best of the best.