Five Reasons Not to Join the Peace Corps

While the Corps sets academics as their number on priority, it's easy for cadets to experience burnout, exhaustion, and a decreased desire to study when the opportunity arises. The first lesson that I learned in the Corps is how to study and devote myself to academics despite being tired. The Corps also gave me a new level of resilience that I never imagined myself developing. There were many points throughout my freshman year that I genuinely wanted to quit the Corps- the stress, exhaustion, and

In addition, learning Spanish will break the language barrier between myself and all the Spanish-speakers of the world, which I find remarkable. I cannot imagine a more efficient method to achieve bilingualism than complete submersion in Spanish language and culture. For this reason, I have decided to study abroad in Costa Rica for six weeks in the summer of 2016. Over these six weeks, I will take two Spanish courses at the Latin University of Costa Rica, and live with a host family in which I will communicate with only through Spanish. I am certain that I will return from this voyage with more confidence in my Spanish-speaking capabilities, greater knowledge of the language, a heightened passion and appreciation for Costa Rican culture, experiences that will be applicable throughout my life and future career, and memories that I will cherish forever. Moreover, I anticipate that by studying Spanish and studying abroad, I will acquire valuable communication skills in both Spanish and English, become more competitive with my peers, and diversify and enhance the overall knowledge that I will acquire from Oklahoma State

While the service trip took place in the Northern US, there were pre-determined requirements that had to be met before we could embark, one of which was a minimum fundraised amount of $500. The money that was raised by this program went towards scholarships for other Kentucky residents to attend YMCA Conferences, where they have the chance to learn about democracy, kinship, and our community. I count this as community service because the YMCA changed my life by transforming an academic student into a servant leader. Providing the chance for someone else to be shaped into one of tomorrow's leaders is doing a service to my community. The third tier of my service goes towards the United States of America. An example of my service to America has already been noted in my ten day service trip to northern states where I helped shelve books with my peers and kinfolk who had fallen into unfortunate circumstances as well as re-vitalise YMCA Camp Y-Owasco through mulching over 5 miles of trails; however, a lesser noted service that many young adults seek is education. I firmly believe that the education of forthcoming generations is one of the greatest services that can be done for our

The volunteers are overseas for 27 months and work in areas such as agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health, and youth in development. “Agriculture volunteers work with small-scale farmers and families to increase food security and production and adapt to climate change while promoting environmental conservation,” according to the Peace Corps website. Volunteers teach new techniques and develop projects to assist them. Education is about teaching lessons that last a lifetime. Volunteers teach subjects like math, science, or English. They can also develop libraries. The environment volunteers are like agriculture but focus more on the conservation part. They promote sustainable use of natural resources. “The health volunteers work within their communities to promote important topics such as nutrition, maternal and child health, basic hygiene, and water sanitation,” (peacecorps.gov). They also work HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs according to the Peace Corps website. Youth in development volunteers are all about empowering the next generation of leaders. “Volunteers work with youth in communities to promote engagement and active citizenship,” (peacecorps.gov). Volunteers teach about gender awareness, employability, sex education, fitness programs; think of it as a Big Brother campaign.

"National Peace Corps Association is grateful to Congressman Huffman for his bold vision to support Americans who are currently serving and who wish to serve their country through the Peace Corps and other national service providers,” said Glenn Blumhorst, President and CEO, National Peace Corps Association. “With growing challenges at home and abroad, this legislation reprioritizes national service to provide American and foreign communities with the skilled leaders they need to help tackle some of the world's most pressing problems. Congressman Huffman's bill will responsibly grow the Peace Corps and help it achieve 10,000 Volunteers in the field, reaffirm noncompetitive eligibility for returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) who wish to continue to serve the federal government, provide the financial means for RPCVs to leverage their skills towards higher learning, and make service more accessible to Americans from low-income backgrounds. We thank Congressman Huffman for his leadership on the Peace Corps and national service, and look forward to working with him and

The Peace Corps is organized into groups of volunteers and trainees that are placed in different developing countries according to their cause. Some of these causes include: education of children and adults, health and HIV/AIDS, environment, business, agriculture and youth. There are currently 7,733 volunteers and

The social adversity that plagues millions seems to be a far cry from the hospitality of late summertime Helena and not a day passes by when Edens doesn’t appreciate his blessings. “I don’t have to wake up in the morning and worry about getting food or if my drink of water with breakfast is going to kill me.” Unfortunately, for so many around the world, survival is a daily struggle. To so many, there is no assurance of tomorrow. There is no promise of food, clean water, shelter or basic medical care. Ryan Edens and the Carroll Outreach Team seek to change these problems one human being at a

The Peace Corps was a volunteer program

Many people don’t realize the true value of volunteering, but I’ve come to understand the incredible impact of volunteering through my experience at Memorial Hermann. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” For me, his words could not be truer.

In Switzerland, we had the opportunity of visiting the World Health Organization and UNAids, I would love to work for both organizations in the future. One thing that I learned to value was the multilingualism of these organizations. Every individual there spoke at least 3 languages. I was able to see how multilingualism enables communication,  promotes tolerance, and aids in diversity. Immediately I knew that  multilingualism was something I wanted to achieve as well. This experience took me back to when I first began volunteering at Charity and Love, a non-profit organization that help individuals find resources to better their lives, I would find myself learning new words each day so I could come back and communicate with Spanish speaking clients. I could even relate it to my present job in the pharmacy.  Although nowhere near fluent, I could give a parent  instructions on how to  give their children the medicine needed to improve their health  in their native language. Once returning to America, ready for the next semester, I signed up for Spanish 1. I have decided to pursue the most prevalent foreign language in my area so that my patients would feel entirely comfortable, especially being able to express

JFK wanted to involve Americans more to spread democracy, peace, development, and freedom, so he started the peace corps with his brother in law. After a month of debating it among people, they decided to start it in February of 1961. The Peace Corps was established by executive order on March 1, 1961.

Our job, as Peace Corps volunteers, is diverse. It cannot be adequately described or summed up in a few words. Yes, we can sarcastically attempt, however, there is remarkably much more to what we accomplish. Regardless of the country or program in which you've been placed or your given job description.

Experiences in service offer more opportunities to be taught than for your deeds to make an impact. These experiences have established and strengthened the fundamental moral principles that I live my life by. Throughout my education, they have been challenged and developed by academics, missions, and cultural experiences. Education can only carry one so far if it’s lessons are not implemented in service to this world. Through fostering a love of people and the world, I have found that learning sparks curiosity, curiosity kindles exploration, exploration illuminates discovery, and discovery ignites

Although volunteers for Medecins Sans Frontiers are commonly stationed in various countries with a dire healthcare worker shortage, regions with refugee camps and internally displaced persons are also a focus for this organization. Refugees and internally displaced persons often come from war torn regions and live in close confines with poor sanitation and limited resources. These living situations become a breeding ground for diseases and other health issues like malnutrition, yet the individuals lack access to any sort of healthcare. The organization also responds quickly when regions suddenly experience an increased need for healthcare, for example in times of an epidemic or a natural disaster. Medecins Sans Frontiers’ involvement across its varying regions and their attempt to address a broad spectrum of healthcare truly show how altruistic the organization is to individuals regardless of race, gender, or religion.

In my five years of active volunteer work with multiple non-profit organizations, I have seen firsthand the lack of attendance of my peers in times of great community need and support from its members. Although it has become more complicated to find time to give back to the community, with a full-time school and work schedule, there is always spare time to give back. The rapidly growing demand for volunteers in communities all across America is increasing and it is everyone’s duty, especially college students, to pay their dues to the