February 19, 2015

Life-changing Experiences While Serving Overseas

Peace Corps volunteers say life abroad opens new horizons, and is unforgettable.

Listen:

anna and child in nicaragua Anna Steeves-Reece with a child in Nicaragua.

After graduating from the University of Oregon in 2010, Anna Steeves-Reece decided to take on a very different challenge.

She accomplished her goal by joining the Peace Corps.

Steeves-Reece served in Nicaragua from 2011 to 2014 and now she's the Peace Corps recruiter at the University of Arizona while she works on a dual master's program.

She is one of more than 100 "Returned Peace Corps Volunteers" (RPCV) who will attend the university's Ninth Annual Peace Corps Fair on Friday February 27 although there will be other informational functions throughout the week.

Tucson resident Renate Schulz, PhD, is also an RPCV, but she has been to three countries as part of her Peace Corps experiences.

renate shulz in africa Renate Schulz, PhD, with a friend in Mali.

Schulz served in Nigeria from 1963 to 1965.

Decades later, after retiring from the University of Arizona, the 71-year-old grandmother went back to her Peace Corps roots by taking on an assignment in Mali in 2011.

However, Schulz's service was cut short due to a political coup in 2012. She and the other volunteers had to be evacuated from the West African nation.

Schulz recently published a book about her experiences, "Life in Alien Territory: Memories of Peace Corps Service in Mali."

She addresses the difficulties and benefits of participating in the Peace Corps which asks its volunteers to be patient, flexible and tolerant.

In spite of the challenges in Mali, Schulz got bit by the Peace Corps bug again and signed up for a third adventure - this time closer to home- when she volunteered in Mexico from 2013 to 2014.

The Ninth Annual Peace Corps Fair at the University of Arizona is free and open to the public and will include more than 100 former volunteers. It is being held from 11 am to 2 pm in the North Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center.

Since the Peace Corps was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 140 countries around the world.

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