Peace Corps service presents major physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. You have provided information on how you qualify for Peace Corps service elsewhere in the application. In the space below, please provide a statement (between 250 – 500 words) that includes:

• Your reasons for wanting to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer; and
• How these reasons are related to your past experiences and life goals.
• How you expect to satisfy the Peace Corps 10 Core Expectations (please be specific about which expectations you expect to find most challenging and how you plan to overcome these challenges).

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In the summer of 2006 I participated in a mission trip to Mexico that profoundly changed my perspective of the world. I saw the poverty on the faces of the people and in the unpaved streets, yet I felt the warmth of a rich culture. I saw a whole world holding its arms out, waiting for a compassionate embrace. This mission trip was the first time I had been out of the country, and the first time I saw how much of the world lives.

Since then, I have pursued a life that will give me the ability to do good in my own community and in the world. After my experience in Mexico, I did two things: 1) confessed to my parents that after college I had to join the Peace Corps and 2) signed up for the journalism class at my school. I became the editor of my school newspaper and yearbook.

Journalism was my first idea of an admirable career path that could give others a look into parts of the world that go largely unnoticed by mainstream society. My journalism teacher at the time helped me pursue this dream by counseling me in finding the best university possible. I will be graduating in May from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, and I know that a career awaits me. However, while I’m excited to start my life, my need to be directly involved still burns.

Through my double major in international studies, I was able to study abroad in Peru studying Spanish and working with the ProWorld Service Corps. My passion for the people of Latin America was reenergized. I spent 10 hours every weekend working in indigenous communities in the countryside of Peru. I entered the mud brick homes of beautiful people and sat at their only table drinking a mug of café con leche while they thanked me in their native Quechua for the service my group and I were doing.

Attaining the trust and confidence of the community will be the most difficult challenge as well as the most important challenge as a Corps volunteer. I believe that by establishing an understanding in the language, culture, and perceptions of people in other countries trust and confidence will steadily fall into place, and I can make great success as a peacekeeper and journalist.

I understand that there are many elements to culture. There may be things I disagree on, and there will be things that I am not accustomed to. However, I know that it is essential that I hold my heart open for the challenges that await me, accept that there will be stress and loneliness, and show my full self to the people of the community. In this way, I see the benefits of a 27-month immersion. Without the time to form positive relationships with individuals in the community the Peace Corps would not be so successful.

In the end, I can never know where my future lies, even with my long list of life goals. But by being a Corps volunteer I will gain the experience to become a well-rounded person and to one day raise my future family to appreciate the rewarding aspects of hospitality, justice, and compassion.