I woke up this morning and checked my phone (like I always do), and I received an email saying that my ToolKit has been updated! The Toolkit is the Peace Corps' website that allows current applicants to check their status... and my status is Nominee! It says I was Nominated on January 26, which was yesterday. I haven't heard back from Kyle yet, so he must have just updated the website and hopefully will call me today.
Now I just have to get through the medical qualification, legal qualification, and suitability screening. The medical evaluation alone includes a physical exam, dental exam, and eye exam. And if you wear glasses, you have to purchase 2 pairs to wear during your service. I technically wear contacts, but haven't put them in my eyes for over a year. I'm just lazy, I even have the daily ones so I don't have to clean the contacts haha. On average, it takes three to nine months for a nominee to receive an invitation to serve. Then my invitation will state my actual departure date, which may be anywhere from one to seven months in the future.
UPDATE: Kyle called me back today while I was in a senior design meeting (of course he calls when I can't answer the phone) and left a voicemail saying that he nominated me for the Pacific Islands program leaving in October 2010! I have to call him back tomorrow to discuss what comes next, I think its mostly a lot of forms to fill out to get medically cleared etc. And then the last step is getting an official Invitation to join the Peace Corps.... and deciding whether I actually want to do go into the PC (which mostly depends on if I get any job offers and if I can convince my parents that the PC is worth my time).
I called Kyle (the recruiter) back today, and I told him that I had decided that the English Teaching in the Pacific Islands would be my first choice. Kyle said that he would do his best to make it happen, and that he would probably call me back tomorrow afternoon or in the next few days.... One of the most consistent things that I've read about the PC online is that you have to be very patient with their application process.
After reading through PC wiki and reading about some of the Eastern European countries on Wikipedia, I got a little scared about being sent to countries with considerable political unrest to try to affect change. The PC wiki has an overwhelming amount of information, including what kinds of cultural stereotypes that female volunteers may have, and any discrimination that Asian-American volunteers may face. Even though most of these countries are developed enough to have reliable electricity and running water, volunteers there have to be prepared for temperatures down to -40°F in winter and up over 100°F in summer. That is a ridiculous range of temperature extremes. I also wanted to consider places where internet and telephone communication would be available, since my family would absolutely freak out if they couldn't keep tabs on me. Apparently mail isn't very reliable in many countries, and they recommend that families and friends who send letters or packages should also number them, to keep track of what arrives and what doesn't.
I also read through some of the Peace Corps journals where the volunteers were assigned to Community Development had become frustrated about the slow implementation of change or the lack of visible progress in their communities. Amanda (my friend who is currently serving in Micronesia as an english teacher) said that education would probably provide the most structure and resources to vounteers, which is good. I know its selfish of me, but I still want to have regular access to computers and internet, as well as electricity and running water. However, I know that many PCV's live in remote places that are behind in infrastructure and thus their housing accommodations may consist of thatched huts etc.
I just called the San Francisco Reigonal Office to try to find out if they had any Family&Friends sessions coming up. I really want my parents to go to some sort of informational meeting where they can get their concerns about safety, health issues, security, and the long-term benefits of the Peace Corps addressed by someone who's been there and gone through it. Its one thing for me to tell them or for them to read it on a website, but if they were to actually hear it from a returned Volunteer, they might be more convinced. The lady at the SF office said they didn't have anything, so she just referred me to the Northern California Peace Corps group and recommended that I contact them. She also pointed out that many PC parents have blogs to share their experiences with children serving overseas. But I didn't get that many hits when I Googled that, just the http://pcparents.meetup.com/ website (and what do you know, they don't have any PC parent groups in Pleasanton).
After reading through PC wiki and reading about some of the Eastern European countries on Wikipedia, I got a little scared about being sent to countries with considerable political unrest to try to affect change. The PC wiki has an overwhelming amount of information, including what kinds of cultural stereotypes that female volunteers may have, and any discrimination that Asian-American volunteers may face. Even though most of these countries are developed enough to have reliable electricity and running water, volunteers there have to be prepared for temperatures down to -40°F in winter and up over 100°F in summer. That is a ridiculous range of temperature extremes. I also wanted to consider places where internet and telephone communication would be available, since my family would absolutely freak out if they couldn't keep tabs on me. Apparently mail isn't very reliable in many countries, and they recommend that families and friends who send letters or packages should also number them, to keep track of what arrives and what doesn't.
I also read through some of the Peace Corps journals where the volunteers were assigned to Community Development had become frustrated about the slow implementation of change or the lack of visible progress in their communities. Amanda (my friend who is currently serving in Micronesia as an english teacher) said that education would probably provide the most structure and resources to vounteers, which is good. I know its selfish of me, but I still want to have regular access to computers and internet, as well as electricity and running water. However, I know that many PCV's live in remote places that are behind in infrastructure and thus their housing accommodations may consist of thatched huts etc.
I just called the San Francisco Reigonal Office to try to find out if they had any Family&Friends sessions coming up. I really want my parents to go to some sort of informational meeting where they can get their concerns about safety, health issues, security, and the long-term benefits of the Peace Corps addressed by someone who's been there and gone through it. Its one thing for me to tell them or for them to read it on a website, but if they were to actually hear it from a returned Volunteer, they might be more convinced. The lady at the SF office said they didn't have anything, so she just referred me to the Northern California Peace Corps group and recommended that I contact them. She also pointed out that many PC parents have blogs to share their experiences with children serving overseas. But I didn't get that many hits when I Googled that, just the http://pcparents.meetup.com/ website (and what do you know, they don't have any PC parent groups in Pleasanton).
Okay my PC recruiter, Kyle, gave me a call back on Friday. He told me that he has a couple options for nominations for me leaving within the timeframe that I said I'd like to leave (sept 2010 or later). He did find a English Teaching option for Asia but it leaves in mid-August so thats cutting it really close to graduation. However, there is a nominations freeze this week so he won't be able to nominate me until next week. No worries on that though, almost everything I've read about the PC says to just be patient.
Here are a few of the options that we discussed:
Option 1: Teaching English in the Pacific Islands, leaves in Oct 2010
Option 2: Teaching Math in Sub-Saharan Africa, leaves in Oct/Nov 2010
Option 3: Community Development in Eastern Europe, North Africa or the Middle East, leaves in Sept 2010
So I don't know what to do!! I would like to teach math but I am a little bit terrified of going to Africa.... I don't know if I could deal with living in a hut, in the middle of nowhere with no access to internet, but I guess that situation is not uncommon to the PC haha. The Pacific Islands would be cool but its super hot and humid there, and I don't know much about Eastern Europe but perhaps that would be cool as well. Actually any of these places would be cool to just go visit, but I have to consider what they would be like to live there for 2 years and integrate myself into the local community and culture.
Now I'm researching those different areas and trying to assess which one would be the best fit for me. Researching just consists of reading the PC Wiki and some peace corps journals and blogs online. Then I have to call Kyle back on Monday to let him know what I've picked. Yikes!
And my parents are really upset, they think that teaching english in a 3rd world country is waste of my time and talent. Ughh. So I think I'm just going to save myself the hassle and not discuss my options with them. I mean, I can already predict what my dad is going to say anyways -- no, no, no, and especially no to the Middle East...
Here are a few of the options that we discussed:
Option 1: Teaching English in the Pacific Islands, leaves in Oct 2010
Option 2: Teaching Math in Sub-Saharan Africa, leaves in Oct/Nov 2010
Option 3: Community Development in Eastern Europe, North Africa or the Middle East, leaves in Sept 2010
So I don't know what to do!! I would like to teach math but I am a little bit terrified of going to Africa.... I don't know if I could deal with living in a hut, in the middle of nowhere with no access to internet, but I guess that situation is not uncommon to the PC haha. The Pacific Islands would be cool but its super hot and humid there, and I don't know much about Eastern Europe but perhaps that would be cool as well. Actually any of these places would be cool to just go visit, but I have to consider what they would be like to live there for 2 years and integrate myself into the local community and culture.
Now I'm researching those different areas and trying to assess which one would be the best fit for me. Researching just consists of reading the PC Wiki and some peace corps journals and blogs online. Then I have to call Kyle back on Monday to let him know what I've picked. Yikes!
And my parents are really upset, they think that teaching english in a 3rd world country is waste of my time and talent. Ughh. So I think I'm just going to save myself the hassle and not discuss my options with them. I mean, I can already predict what my dad is going to say anyways -- no, no, no, and especially no to the Middle East...
Hello world!
I decided to begin a blog to document my experiences as a Peace Corps applicant (and hopefully a future Peace Corps Volunteer!). I am currently a 4th year Industrial Engineering student at Georgia Tech, studying abroad in Bejing/Singapore over the summer and graduating in August 2010. I took the LSAT last June, and I hope to go to law school within the next 5 years.
I am super indecisive about what industry that I want to work in. I've worked at RuSans (a local sushi and seafood place in Midtown Atlanta), interned at GTRI in the Office of Policy Analysis and Research, sold Georgia Tech Football and Basketball Tickets as an inside sales consultant for Georgia Tech Athletics, and I currently work in the Design Intelligence lab (in the department of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech). I'm not exactly thrilled to be graduating and have to search for jobs in this economy, so I applied to the Peace Corps in December and hope to go serve as a Volunteer somewhere in Asia, and perhaps either teach English or math, or serve in the areas of youth development coordinator or community development.
I had my PC interview at the Atlanta Reigonal Office downtown, which went pretty well in my opinion. However, I did manage to go to the wrong Federal Center building, and they didn't tell me it was the wrong building until after I had already gone through their security checkpoint. I also managed to park in the hourly lot instead of the daily lot, so I ended up paying $13 to park for 2 hours. I had a great and thorough interview with Kyle Jessop, the recruiter assigned to my file. He told me that I had one of the strongest and most versatile applications that he had seen in 3 years. He had planned on nominating me for an English teaching assignment in Asia that was leaving in June, but I will still be studying abroad then so that wasn't an option. He also asked me if I would mind being "spotlighted" at Georgia Tech, whatever that means. I guess that would be cool. Lots of good PR for the GTAA and Alpha Phi. Kyle said he would call me about a nomination for an assignment as soon as I submitted some more paperwork, which is a good sign. I'm really excited about potentially becoming a PCV!
My parents hate the idea of me going into the Peace Corps though, and my dad just insisted on me searching for jobs on Monster. Has he ever tried to use any online job search sites? They are all so overwhelming and I still remain unconvinced that any companies actually check them. Last summer, I applied to 20+ internships online and only heard back from 3. I interviewed for 2, and recieved an offer for 1. Great statistics. Well, at least I'm still in school for this spring so I still have some time to get my future job and life figured out, right?
I decided to begin a blog to document my experiences as a Peace Corps applicant (and hopefully a future Peace Corps Volunteer!). I am currently a 4th year Industrial Engineering student at Georgia Tech, studying abroad in Bejing/Singapore over the summer and graduating in August 2010. I took the LSAT last June, and I hope to go to law school within the next 5 years.
I am super indecisive about what industry that I want to work in. I've worked at RuSans (a local sushi and seafood place in Midtown Atlanta), interned at GTRI in the Office of Policy Analysis and Research, sold Georgia Tech Football and Basketball Tickets as an inside sales consultant for Georgia Tech Athletics, and I currently work in the Design Intelligence lab (in the department of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech). I'm not exactly thrilled to be graduating and have to search for jobs in this economy, so I applied to the Peace Corps in December and hope to go serve as a Volunteer somewhere in Asia, and perhaps either teach English or math, or serve in the areas of youth development coordinator or community development.
I had my PC interview at the Atlanta Reigonal Office downtown, which went pretty well in my opinion. However, I did manage to go to the wrong Federal Center building, and they didn't tell me it was the wrong building until after I had already gone through their security checkpoint. I also managed to park in the hourly lot instead of the daily lot, so I ended up paying $13 to park for 2 hours. I had a great and thorough interview with Kyle Jessop, the recruiter assigned to my file. He told me that I had one of the strongest and most versatile applications that he had seen in 3 years. He had planned on nominating me for an English teaching assignment in Asia that was leaving in June, but I will still be studying abroad then so that wasn't an option. He also asked me if I would mind being "spotlighted" at Georgia Tech, whatever that means. I guess that would be cool. Lots of good PR for the GTAA and Alpha Phi. Kyle said he would call me about a nomination for an assignment as soon as I submitted some more paperwork, which is a good sign. I'm really excited about potentially becoming a PCV!
My parents hate the idea of me going into the Peace Corps though, and my dad just insisted on me searching for jobs on Monster. Has he ever tried to use any online job search sites? They are all so overwhelming and I still remain unconvinced that any companies actually check them. Last summer, I applied to 20+ internships online and only heard back from 3. I interviewed for 2, and recieved an offer for 1. Great statistics. Well, at least I'm still in school for this spring so I still have some time to get my future job and life figured out, right?
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