Ever wonder what a Peace Corps volunteer actually gains from their experience abroad?  What new insights do they leave with?  What did volunteers learn about themselves?

Summer Program Participants, Cristo Rey Village, 2002

“I’ve survived the challenge of Peace Corps and found that I really like working with little kids.  I also found that I like to write and edit,” reflected Alanna Randall in an email to family and friends in the United States.  As a volunteer in San Ignacio, Belize, Randall worked as an Environmental Education Coordinator.  It makes sense that you might not love every aspect of the job you are assigned to do.  Yet, the Peace Corps environment provided many young individuals a chance to work in positions they might not originally choose.  Randall reflected on her own experience, “I’ve learned quite a bit about our environment, but I still don’t really feel qualified to be an ‘environmental educator.”

Volunteers like Randall left the Peace Corps with a deeper understanding of areas they were interested in pursuing post-Peace Corps, as well as those they unquestionably felt were not for them.

Alanna Randall with Summer Program Participants, 2002