My Blog:
If you're looking for a volunteer's humbling submergence into a new culture, you'll find that realness here. No seriously...Peace Corps is sending a 23-year-old white upper-middle class female, who passed the AP French IV Language exam a whopping 6 years ago, to go teach junior high science, in French, and speak the local village's language (not English or French) in the 3rd poorest country in the world. Did you catch all of that?
From SF Bay Area suburbia growing up, to San Diego beaches in college, to sub-Saharan towns for 27 months in landlocked Burkina Faso? Challenge accepted.
I am that girl and believe it or not, this is my dream placement. I could have been placed in any third world country, but Peace Corps placed me in my preferred region of Africa, more specifically in French-speaking West Africa. Ever since a trip through Europe in high school, I have wanted to travel and be able to stay in a completely new culture for an extended period of time. Assimilating into this new impoverished way of life will not only allow me to help others, it will allow me to learn more about myself and become closer to God.
Me in a Nutshell:
I was born and raised in Pleasanton, CA of the San Francisco East Bay Area. I have one older sister and one younger brother. I attended Foothill High School, where I was heavily involved in the Foothill Marching Band and Varsity Track and Field.
I attended UC San Diego where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Neuroscience and a Minor in Music. I competed as a short sprinter (100m, 200m, 400m relay) for all four years on UC San Diego's NCAA Division II Track and Field team. My 2013 college graduation culminated my nine-year track career and I have since been exploring running longer distances...at a very slow pace.
I attended UC San Diego where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Neuroscience and a Minor in Music. I competed as a short sprinter (100m, 200m, 400m relay) for all four years on UC San Diego's NCAA Division II Track and Field team. My 2013 college graduation culminated my nine-year track career and I have since been exploring running longer distances...at a very slow pace.
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| 200m dash- UC San Diego 2013 |
My Peace Corps Timeline:
I applied to Peace Corps in March 2013. At the time, Peace Corps advertised that applicants could leave in less than 9 months. In May 2013, I received my nomination from the San Diego region to serve as a science teacher departing April-June 2014. Certainly not as soon as I'd hoped, but as my mother always says, patience is a virtue! During Summer 2013, I filled out lengthy paperwork required of receiving a federal background check and pre-medical clearance. In December 2013, I received my official invitation to depart June 4, 2014 to serve as a junior high science teacher in the country of Burkina Faso in West Africa. What a flurry of emotions!
