Steven Orr served in the Peace Corps in Panama from 1964 to 1966. While in the city of Santiago de Veraguas, Orr worked with Emilio Jose Batista Castillo, the director of the Instituto Vocacional de Veraguas, a small vocational school.

With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Orr, additional PCVs, and Emilio transformed the small institute (consisting originally of essentially an empty shed) into a three building campus. Orr worked with Emilio to create the school’s curriculum. The school later became the Central Provinces Branch of the University of Panama and grew to include close to 20 buildings and classrooms. Emilio would later work in deep-water port management, working internationally in places such as Odessa, London, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

The photo below, taken in 1965 in Santiago, shows local Panamanian youths, students of the vocational school, and Peace Corps volunteers. This photograph showcases how collective efforts of various groups can make lasting changes throughout the world.

Panamanian Youths, students, and PCVs in Santiago de Veraguas, 1965. (extreme left, back row: Steven D. Orr; fifth from left, back row: Pauline Malone (PCV) ; ninth from left, back row: Louise Foy (PCV) ; eleventh from left, back row: Merrill Mazza (PCV) ; extreme right: Peace Corps Regional Director Emory Tomor.