When I was 18 I spoke with a college advisor who casually mentioned he joined the Peace Corps years ago, ever since then I have periodically researched the Peace Corps and it has been on the back of my mind for years.
I have been fascinated by submerging myself into a new culture in need of help and the success (or failure) of my specific project fell solely on me. There was no team, just my individual efforts. Over the years I looked through the open positions to keep me entertained until I graduated college, to join you have to have a bachelors in a relative degree.
Before graduating college I secured an awesome job with an incredible company, Gartner. Gartner allowed me to take the first 3 months off to travel, what more could I ask for! On top of the excellent company culture, great pay, and being surrounded by people that truly had a raw hunger to better themselves, the biggest selling point was the job itself. To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed my work. I have the opportunity every day to work with CEOs, CMOs and various other C-level executives to help them grow their company. Through this I have had the opportunity to pick the brains of some extremely impressive individuals. There was not greater benefits of working at Gartner than meeting and working with the team I was on. Great people to share some amazing experiences with.
Life was good. I was traveling some of which were trips won from my company, I was making good money and receiving 3-5 interview requests per week from companies like Cisco, Cintas, Google, and Amazon. I would interview as much as possible but I would find that there was not anything I desired from these companies that I did not have at Gartner. So what was next?
The thought of the Peace Corps resurfaced again and this time I was qualified but now I had so much more to lose with what to gain? This was a hard thought for me as I avoid emotional decisions and focus on the logical trade offs. Logically the Peace Corps just doesn't make sense for me at this time.
I didn't need the resume booster of the Peace Corps any longer. I would make more in one single paycheck at Gartner than I would the entire 27 months of service with the Peace Corps (no pay but a monthly stipend of around $350 a month). The money I made at Gartner combined with a good PTO policy allowed me to travel enough to resolve my travel bug. So why the Peace Corps?
Through out my life I have worked very hard for what I have through my school, work, and extracurriculars. With that being said there were other people that were and still are working extremely hard to provide me with the opportunities I have had. My parents worked hard to ensure that I could make it to college, they worked hard to make sure I could get through college (all five years), they worked hard so I can study abroad, they worked hard so I could intern at Walt Disney World, they worked hard taking care of my personal affairs (my dog) while I travelled. I have had a tremendous support group through my family and friends that has lead me to where I am today.
The people of the countries the Peace Corps serves in are working very hard to provide for themselves and their children. They desperately want a better life for themselves and a better future for their children but they lack the opportunity to do so, they lack a support system that enables them to better themselves. This is why I have decided to join the Peace Corps. I did not join to solve anyones problems for them but to enable them to create a better life for themselves. This is why I joined.
As it stands now, I have accepted the invitation to work as a Community Economic Development Volunteer in the country of Namibia. I will be working to promote small-scale businesses to stimulate the middle class economy. My assignment is for 27 months with a date of departure of April 8th, 2018. While at this moment I have accepted this opportunity there is still a long process before it is official. I am trying to get my personal affairs in order now while working through medical and legal clearance, post both clearances I will then again need to reaccept. I will continue to blog throughout this process.
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