Aspiration Statement

A.   The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps Service.

I feel I am as prepared as I can be for beginning my service in the Peace Corps.  That being said, I am well aware of the fact that I really have very little of an idea of what I am in about to encounter and hope that the experiences I have while serving in the Peace Corps, good and bad, will help me grow as a person and shape my future.
Professionally, I think I have a great skill set to help me through my service as a Secondary Education Teacher in Physical Science.  The obvious attributes would be the fact I have a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Science.  I also have experience as an instructor of a university level class and have led countless educational programs for the Department of Housing and Residence Education at the University of Florida.
Beyond the obvious, I have developed good leadership through a large variety of positions, and can’t think of a time dating back into middle school that I was not somehow serving as a leader.  I often served as club officers and even president throughout middle and high school, have assumed leadership roles through work, and then served as a Resident Assistant (RA) and later Graduate Hall Director (GHD) in college.  Even though I am often seen as the leader, I think I still spend most of my time being a member of the team following another leader.  I feel this is a priceless skill in any situation, but hopefully will prove to be extra valuable in the Peace Corps where I will be leading a classroom of students, but part of a team with my fellow volunteers, teachers, and community.
One of my most rewarding professional roles I’ve ever held is serving as an advisor.  Being able to share knowledge and advice with someone else is an amazing feeling.  There can be no great reward than when your advice helps those people to lead a happier and safer life.  That being said, I also have come to understand the times when advice is not wanted or needed and I should stand back to let the individuals involved grow on their own.  I know that these boundaries will be much different as a foreigner in a Malawian village, but if I am sought out as an advisor, I hope that I will be able to use my past professional experience and help.
A fact I recently heard was that left-handed people are more likely to be out-of-the-box thinkers, and as a left handed person, I felt this was a great tidbit.  With all the poorly designed scissors and right-handed equipment out there, we have to be.  I think my critical thinking and problem solving goes even beyond cutting paper.  In my time working as an RA and GHD, I often had to get creative in finding solutions to problems that always seem to be unique and topics not covered in the countless hours of training every semester.  I have a feeling this skill might be valuable working in an under-supplied school in a village with limited resources.
The biggest aspiration I’m hoping to fill while serving in the Peace Corps is making a positive change in the world.  I feel great personal fulfillment through helping others, and feel like I don’t find myself in those situations often enough.  I know that this is probably the answer people give most often thinking it is what you want to hear, but for me it’s the truth.
The desire to serve is not my only reason for applying.  I’ll also get life experience.  Good or bad, I will be experiencing life to its fullest.  I have been told repeatedly that Peace Corps will change you on a fundamental level, and I’m hoping it does.  I can’t see any way that the change wouldn’t be for the better, whether it is growing stronger through dealing with hardships or making great memories of amazing adventures and fun times.  Personally, I’m excited to read this document after my service and see how I have changed.

 
B. Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

Listen.  This is probably the most important word in any relationship, but I cannot see how it could be any more important than dealing with someone from another culture that has a different set of ideals and beliefs.  I do realize that listening can be a little more challenging when learning a new language.  This is why I’m going to be studying like crazy before leaving and during pre-service training to get a strong foundation to understanding the language.
An obvious, but I’d imagine overlooked, way to meet expressed needs is to meet the needs that are actually expressed.  I’ll be dealing with a different culture, and what may seem important to me might not be a priority to them.  At this time, I have no idea of what an example of this could be, but I do need to make sure my work is related to what the community needs, not what I want to do.  This leads into my next strategy.
Probably the most important and all-encompassing strategy for helping my community will be open mindedness.  I need assimilate myself into my community, build relationships, listen to needs, and do my job teaching.  In order to do this, I’m going to have to adhere to their cultural norms, and this is undoubtedly going to require open-mindedness.  If I can do this, I might be accepted by members of my community, and hopefully they’ll be comfortable expressing their needs to me.
Finally, I hope to work with my community to meet their needs.  If I can work with them to fix the problems they see in their community, maybe it will help them to fix these problems even after I have left.  Only then will the change I make be a truly sustainable one.

C. Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.
 
 
Recently, I was discussing ‘comfort zones’ with a close friend.  He told me “I don’t think you even have a comfort zone anymore.”  While I wish this was true, I know that it isn’t the case.  However, the statement is what I would consider quite a compliment.  What my friend was referring to is the fact that I am willing to put aside my typical comforts and try new things.  I think the fact I’m not only willing, but ecstatic to join the Peace Corps, drop everything, and move to Africa demonstrates this.  I also know that there are many people that felt the same way in the past that were challenged by the changes, and I don’t presume that I am any better than them.
I have made a hobby of leaving my comfort zone often in my life.  I plan to stick with this tradition throughout my service.  I’m hoping to dive head-first into the Malawian culture!  I want to learn how the locals do things, and try it out there way.  If this means eating new foods, wearing different clothes, and speaking a new language, I’m going to do it all with a smile.  After all, I’m moving to Africa, so I’m going to have to be the one that adapts to my new home, not my new home that has to adapt to me.
All the time, I’m going to attempt to hold onto my own culture in private so I don’t forget myself.  While in the privacy of my own home, I can read or listen to music, giving me that little taste of the homeland.  I might even be lucky enough to watch a video on my laptop or make a familiar dish on occasion.  I also would like to share my culture with my community when appropriate.  I do not plan to always keep my culture to myself.  At the right time, I want my community to learn to appreciate America culture for what it really is, and not for the stereotypes they’ve might have heard in the past.  I want them to get to know the America I know, a land filled with generous, nice, and helpful people with a rich and diverse culture.


D. The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during Pre-Service Training to best serve your future community and project.

The biggest thing I want to learn in Pre-Service Training is the local language.  I feel being able to communicate is a big deal.  Not learning this to the best of my ability during Pre-Service would likely put me at a disadvantage during my service.
I really hope that I will also get a strong understanding for the Malawian culture during my time in Pre-Service.  I would prefer to enter my community that I’ll be serving in with a strong understanding of their customs so that I’m not viewed as a complete outsider for any longer than I have to be.  From the literature I have read, becoming a member of your community is very important, and a knowledge and observance of the culture is fundamental to this.
As someone with limited teaching experience, and no teaching experience at the secondary school level or in the developing world, I hope that training will teach me to be a great educator.  I understand that there is a standardized test administered to the students every year and that the pass rate is far below 100%, but I want to learn how to teach my students so that their pass rate can be as high as possible.  I want to learn how to teach in a way that my students will be able to succeed both in my classroom and long after I’m gone.  I know this is a lofty goal, but I have to try.
Finally, I’m hoping I will be given an idea in training what the needs of my community are.  I know that my impact on my community is not limited to the classroom.  If Pre-Service Training can give me an idea of what these outside needs are and how I can meet them, I will feel much better prepared to help my community.


E. How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.

Serving in the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember knowing about the organization.  That being said, I’ve never been more aware of the fact that I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.  I have read tons of blogs and the paperwork provided in my invitation, as well as talking with RPCVs.  Through all this the main thing I’ve discovered is that there is no way to be completely ready for what I will face.  I know it’s the toughest job I’ll ever love, and that sounds great to me!  I think a personal aspiration will be just to experience this.  I don’t know how I’m going to change personally, but I do know the change is coming, and it will be embraced.
I know I love science.  I also know I love working at Universities.  Based on those facts, I have assumed that I will get my Ph.D. and become a professor at a major research institution.  I’ll spend my week (and many weekends) doing research, advising graduate students, and teach undergraduate students.  My past research is in Biomechanics, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, but it’s the science I enjoy most.  My Peace Corps service will provide me with the teaching experience to put on my CV that will set me apart from other applicants, both going into the Ph.D. programs as well as applying for tenure track faculty positions.  The Peace Corps will also provide me with the time off to assess that this is what I really want to do, and if maybe a different specialization might be better for me.
There is also the distinct possibility that I will enjoy my foreign service so much that I’ll change my mind and spend the rest of my life working in related jobs.  All I can say for sure at this point is I do not know what my professional priority will be after my service, but I do know for sure that my service in Peace Corps will play a large role in helping me decide what will make me happiest and maximize my positive impact on the world.