September 2013 Publisher’s Letter
Too often, America’s youth is portrayed in the worst light by the media. This month’s letter comes to you from Joe Dunne, the publisher of Natural Awakenings Middlesex Hunterdon edition. Taylor Dempsey is his niece.
~ Jerry & Pat Hocek, Publishers
Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa
by Taylor Dempsey
Greetings from Uganda! My name is Taylor Dempsey and I am an education development Peace Corps volunteer here, which, in essence, means that I’m a teacher. But, more on that later.
I was raised in upstate New York, the oldest of four children, and graduated in May 2012 from American University (AU) in Washington, D.C. I had an amazing college experience, filling my time with skin cancer research in the National Institutes of Health lab of a dear professor and mentor, and exploring social issues, which were all too visible in our capital city, such as veteran homelessness and youth violence. Additionally, through a perspective-changing, six-month study abroad stint in New Zealand and two shorter but equally revealing community service trips to South Africa, I was introduced to the possibilities offered by travel and immersion.
AU’s pre-medical program was vigorous, but I reaped the rewards of my hard work with that summa cum laude distinction on my diploma. Though I wouldn’t say I “burned out,” per se, something held me back from sitting for the Medical College Admission Test with my peers. I had the itch to get out of the classroom for a while, to embrace my lack of attachment to person and place, to do something meaningful and dramatic and challenging. I decided to apply for the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps is an independent U.S. government agency founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. It recruits volunteers for 27-month commitments to development projects in partner nations in the areas of health and HIV/AIDS, agriculture, the environment, education, youth empowerment and information technology. Currently, 8,073 volunteers are serving in 76 countries; over the past 50-plus years, over 210,000 have served in 139.
My experience with the approval and clearance process was true to its reputation of being frustrating and, at times, ridiculous, but in August I received my long-awaited invitation. I had 24 hours to make a decision. Peace Corps was clear from the beginning about this being a take-it-or-leave-it kind of thing. In fact, my interviewer barely stifled a laugh when I asked her if she could recommend me for a placement in Asia, simply because I was interested in the Tibet-China conflict and had never been to that part of the world. She said that it didn’t work like that and they would put me where they needed me. If I turned down the offer I received, my name would be just as good as erased from the Peace Corps system.
I accepted, of course, and here I am. I arrived in November 2012 and was thrown into an exhausting two months of pre-service training along with 45 others. We learned how to navigate the perilous capital city of Kampala, communicate in our regional language, give ourselves a malaria blood test and hand wash our clothes. We lived with a Ugandan family for a month and for the other, were observed and critiqued as we taught science in classrooms of 120 English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Finally we graduated from trainees to volunteers on January 17, 2013 and were released to our sites.
I have now been on my own in the village for 15 weeks. Please visit my blog at TaylorDempsey.wordpress.com.
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