Timeline
Summer 2009 - June 2010
So I have been thinking about doing the Peace Corps for a long while now. Summer before senior year of college, I interned at Health Volunteers Overseas, where most of the employees had been in the Peace Coprs. The Executive Director, Nancy Kelly, is on the Peace Corps' "notable alumni' website. I had thought about it before then, but their insight and stories really made me think about it more. As my senior year started, the Peace Corps idea was really put on the back burner. I was super busy with school and work and honestly partying it up my last year in college. Somehow I still made the best grades of my college career that year. Anyhow, nearing the end of the school year with graduation approaching, I realized I really needed to think about what I wanted to do after graduation. I knew I needed a break before going to grad school and it was going to be incredibly hard to find a job in this economy (most of my friends still don't have jobs!). I knew I wanted to go abroad, but how and where? I speak some Japanese and so I applied for the JET Program to teach English in Japan. As I have no English teaching experience, it is not surprising that I was not accepted. I then began to think about my mission trips to Kenya and how much I loved going there and helping the community. I also knew that I wanted to go into humanitarian assistance and work with the UN or USAID one day and that international experience in a developing country would really help me with that career path. So, around June 2010 I made the final decision to do the Peace Corps.
July 1, 2010 - Application in!
The application process is long, but not so bad. It is pretty much what you would expect from an organization like the Peace Corps. You need 3 recommendations, college transcripts, and write a couple essays. If you really are passionate about the PC, the essays will be easy to write for you.
July 12th - Received email from my PC Recruiter
My recruiter basically introduced himself and explained that I would be getting a Legal kit in the mail soon. You will also receive a letter giving you access to the toolkit website (different from the application website). I didn't get one for awhile, so I called the office and they sent it to the wrong address. So, if you don't get something in the mail that you're supposed to, just call the office and they are very helpful.
July 13th - Received legal kit in the mail
The legal kit asks for a couple things, but nothing too difficult to get. You need to get fingerprints and find out about your student loans and fill out some forms about prior arrests and give your info for a background check.
August 5 - Interview with my PC recruiter
Today is the big day! I go in for the formal interview at the PC office in Virginia. We go over the process of how the PC works and then we get right into the questions. The questions asked are pretty much what you would expect and you can actually google it and find them online. Some examples are: describe a time when you displayed leadership skills or how often do you talk with your family and will you be ok if you can't contact them as often while abroad. So after we go through the questions, my recruiter tells me that I am best suited to teach English. He also said that since I don't have any teaching experience that I'll have to get 30 hours of English teaching experience before I go. Teaching English wasn't what I was expecting to get nominated for, so I asked for awhile to think about it to make sure it was the right decision for me.
August 10 - meet with recruiter again
After giving it some thought, I came to the conclusion that I really do want to do the Peace Corps and Teaching English could be a great experience and a great way to give back. Plus, when school is not in session, teachers have the option of taking on other projects, which is pretty cool. My recruiter unofficially nominates me to Teach English in Eastern Europe. I'll be officially nominated when I find a place to do some volunteer teaching so I can get that required experience.
August 19th - Officially nominated to Teach English in Easter Europe!
After finally finding the perfect place to be a volunteer English teacher, I tell my recruiter and he officially nominates me. Lets talk about where I was nominated to go for a minute because I know everybody wonders how much say they have in where they go and how you are chosen to go where. I requested on my application Africa, Asia and the Middle East and I told my recruiter I really would like to go to Morocco, Thailand, Cambodia or somewhere that I could use my French skills (I'm fluent). I was nominated to Eastern Europe as it was the first available leave date for a teaching English program that I could feasibly get into after leaving time for all the medical stuff to be cleared.
ALSO, the way that the placement works is that your recruiter interviews and nominates you, but after that, he has no further say in where you go. After your legal/medical stuff has been cleared, a different placement person will take over your file and they decide where you go. My recruiter told me that %50 percent of the time you won't go where you were nominated to go. I am fluent in French, so I really think there is a chance the placement person will assign me to Africa.
When you are nominated, you are given a tentative departure date. The way the departure works is that after you have cleared medically, you just sit and wait until you get a call/letter/email from the placement person telling you where you will go. This will come between 3 month and 6 weeks before you leave. I was nominated to leave in March BUT if the placement person decides to switch me to another program, it is possible that I will be leaving earlier or later! I don't want to sound like a magic 8 ball, but your future is very unclear while you are doing the PC application process.
FINALLY, make sure you know that being nominated does NOT mean that you are accepted. You still have to pass your legal background check, medical and dental checks and be invited on a program until you are officially accepted as a PC volunteer.
August 23 - Received medical packet
I got my medical packet in the mail and it really does look intimidating. Basically there is a bunch of stuff you have to do and it looks really intimidating, but once you just sit down and make the appointments, it's really not that bad. PC does help with reimbursing the costs of these visits as well. If you smoke, you will get a letter telling you smoking is bad. There might also be some extra forms if you have any conditions that you listed on the medical part of the application. I was a bit too honest, so I had a couple forms that ended up not really apply to me.
September 14th - Eye doctor
I went to go see the eye doctor and they did a quick check up on my eyes. You can go to your local Hour Eyes to get this done, you don't need to go to a doctor's office or anything. You have to bring 2 pairs of glasses with you and the PC will replace them if you break them. I barely need glasses and I only use them when I'm at a play or in the back of a classroom, so I will probably not buy the extra pair and just deal if they get broken/lost/stolen.
Septemeber 18th - Dentist and Lab tests
I went and had my teeth cleaned and got x-rays. Make sure the doc gives you all the ones the PC wants. 7 days before your phsycial exam, you have to go get blood drawn and give a urine sample. Contrary to popular believe, the urine sample is NOT a drug test. My doctor showed me the results and confirmed it was not testing for drugs. I have dental benefits through my job, so the dentist was free for me. I know the PC will reimburse some for the dentist. The lab tests are also free.
September 23rd - Physical Exam
I took part in a pilot program in DC where there was a physician provided for the physical and there was no charge. The lady who did it was super nice and I felt very comfortable. Basically, we went over all of the forms and the results of the blood and urine tests (all fine, yay!). Then we went over any issues that I had marked on my medical forms. I was a bit too honest on those forms. For example, the form asked if you had ever used an inhaler. When I had a horrible flu, the doc gave me one to help me breathe. After I got over the flu, I've never used one since. When I got my medical packet, there was a form saying that the PC thought I had asthma! The doctor was very understanding. Girls - you will have to have had a pap smear within the last year to clear medically. I hadn't had one yet so the doc did one right there for free and gave me a prescription for my birth control! Since the office is just down the street from the PC HQ, the doctor said that they can just give all my forms to the PC directly. Now all I have to do is wait and see!
September 24th - Legal Hold
Just got an email saying that there there is a hold on my application because my legal eligibility is under review. I wonder if they are just now getting to that (I turned all that info in at my interview) or if they know my medical stuff is coming soon and maybe I could leave before the tentative March date?
Must stop speculating!!! Must. not. refresh. page. every. second. Ok, I'll update again when i find out what's going on!
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