Aaron makes friends in Ghana.
Former Southlake Carroll Students Begin Their Volunteer Service in the Peace Corps
Abbey Walsh and Aaron Eubank have a lot in common. The 2009brCarroll Senior High School graduates both studied international relations atbrcolleges in Washington, D.C. — Abbey at American University and Aaron at GeorgebrWashington University — and they both studied abroad in Africa — Abbey in SouthbrAfrica and Aaron in Cameroon. Now fresh out of school, their shared passionsbrfor learning and mutual interests in vibrant African culture have led them bothbrto embark on perhaps one of their greatest adventures yet, serving for morebrthan two years in Africa as members of the government's respected volunteer program, the Peace Corps.
Choosing the corps
In 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students atbrthe University of Michigan to live and work in developing countries whilebrproviding assistance and promoting peace. Officially established just one yearbrlater, the Peace Corps program has given more than 200,000 Americans thebropportunity to serve in approximately 140 countries around the world, offeringbraid in areas such as education, health, community economic development,brenvironment, youth in development and agriculture. Today, volunteers continuebrthe organization's mission of encouraging peace and friendship by establishingbrunderstanding between Americans and the people of other countries.
When she learned of the Peace Corpsbrat 15 years old, Abbey set a goal to join the ranks after college. (Even then,brshe was certain she'd rather travel the globe than be chained to a desk.) Whilebrstudying international development as an undergrad, she focused on Africa. Thebrmore she learned about development there, the more she knew she wanted to servebrin the Peace Corps.
“I love the idea that they focus onbrcommunities — that grassroots effort, really asking for what they need andbrstarting at a low level,” she explains. “I feel like that's one of the mostbrsuccessful things we can do as people who work in development. It's sobrimportant to create relationships with people.”
During his time in Cameroon, Aaronbrlearned about the Peace Corps and became interested in how it could provide himbrthe opportunity to continue his education.
“I visited Africa a couple times inbrcollege, both during study abroad and as a summer program, and I became reallybrinterested in the continent's different countries and their respectivebrcultures,” he says. “I thought the Peace Corps was the perfect fit, because Ibrhad always learned that education was the key to development in my studies.”
This past September, Aaron left tobrteach English in Rwanda, while Abbey anxiously awaits her youth development servicebrthat begins in January in Morocco. Both will spend 27 months abroad — approximatelybr10 weeks of in-country training followed by 24 months of volunteering — andbralthough they're not strangers to living in Africa, their time in the PeacebrCorps will make for entirely new adventures.
Out of Africa
Applying to the Peace Corps is a lengthy and labor-intensivebrprocess. Over the course of nine to 12 months, candidates must submit writtenbrapplications and recommendations, go through a formal interview and obtainbrlegal and medical clearances. Very few make it through the organization'sbrrigorous selection process. Originally, Abbey and Aaron had the samebrapplication timeline, but Abbey got held up when she turned in her medicalbrpaperwork — a heart surgery she had in middle school immediately slowed herbrdown.
“I was putbrin the pile to be checked later,” she recalls. “If you didn't have certainbrhealth flags, you got automatically cleared, which is what happened to Aaron.”brHowever, the setback didn't deter her. “It's a really competitive program, butbra lot of it is self-selection. If you don't keep up with the process or if youbrthink it's too hard, you're not going to make it.”
Abbey's perseverance paid off, andbrshe's now counting down the days until she can explore Morocco, where she'll bebrassigned to a community center likely located in a rural area and in charge ofbrcreating programming for local youth.
“We'll work with the community tobrsee what they want and need,” she says. “I'm probably going to help teachbrEnglish — a lot of kids need help in order to pass their matriculation exam. Therebrare also things like working with artisans to help them set up websites, doingbrresume prep, running summer camps and organizing aerobics classes for women —brit's a Muslim country, so women usually aren't allowed to go in public spacesbrand work out.”
Abbey, who has worked on women's issuesbrin D.C., has a tremendous amount of respect for Muslim cultures, even if thebrroles typically reserved for women are different than what she is accustomedbrto.
“I think it's really important forbrme, thinking about the goal of cultural exchange, to be in an Arab country,brlearn Arabic, participate in Muslim culture and show people back home thatbrthese people are amazing,” she says. “Unfortunately, we're in a time where Arabbrpeople are targeted. I didn't think I would be sent to the Middle Easternbrregion, but I'm really excited about the things I wasn't expecting to be a partbrof my life, from not being able to interact with men most of the time to thebrway that I dress and being in Ramadan.”
Aaron, who will be challenged withbrlearning Rwanda's native language, Kinyarwanda, will teach late middle schoolbrand high school children 15 hours a week, with the remainder of his timebrdevoted to training other teachers in English.
“They just changed Rwanda'sbrcurriculum from French to English,” he says. “So about 70 percent of thebrteachers are still really comfortable speaking French. I have some Frenchbrbackground, so I'll be using French with them and helping them transition inbrmath, science and other subjects.”
Having already seen the WestbrAfrican countries of Cameroon and Ghana, Aaron is looking forward to thebrmountainous Rwanda and its climate, which averages between 50 and 90 degrees throughoutbrthe year.
“I'm really excited. I hear it's anbrabsolutely beautiful country,” he says. “I don't really know as much about EastbrAfrican culture, so I'm excited to learn about Rwanda from Rwandans because itbrhas such a rich history. I'll be there for the 20th anniversary of thebrgenocide, and I want to see how that's dealt with.”
During their first three months inbrAfrica, Aaron and Abbey will each complete community-based training. Alongsidebra few other Peace Corps volunteers plus a local liaison, they'll live withbrlocal families and complete 8-hour days of language and cultural trainingbrbefore getting assigned to their positions. Once they're in their post, they willbrenjoy plenty of flexibility and independence.
“They say whether a volunteerbrsucceeds or fails in their drive is all about where you put your maximumbreffort,” Aaron says. “It's not necessarily getting through the 27 months orbrhaving the most successful classes, but the fact that you put in the time andbrtried to engage with the community.”
The far-off future
It will be Christmas 2015 when Aaron makes his way back tobrthe U.S. and says he's tentatively considering attending grad school once he's home.brAbbey, however, says it's just too far off for her to make concrete plans.
“Whatever Ibrend up doing in Morocco is going to change the course of what I want to do,”brshe says. “Right now, I just want to be out and traveling. I want to explore.brTwo of my best friends are also serving in the Peace Corps, so hopefully, I'llbrbe able to travel and see how their sites differ from mine.”
Time off during Peace Corps servicebris scarce — about two days of leave per month — and the pay is modest, butbrthat's entirely the point.
“They wantbrus to live like those who live there,” Aaron says. “They give us a monthlybrstipend for everything we need, like food, communication and leisure. You canbrobviously spend your own money, but they discourage that. At the end of thebrday, this is a volunteer thing — we knew what we were signing up for.”
Abbeybragrees she's not concerned about her monetary situation and thrives on thebrunknown that comes with immersing herself in a foreign country.
“We'rebrdoing this to help people not only in the places we serve but back home, too,brincreasing the awareness,” she says. “We're going to be living very differentbrlives than in Southlake, but I'm really excited.”