My name is Nadine. I graduated from University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. I graduated magna cum laude (which I am very proud of). I’ve volunteered at dozens of places throughout my life. Currently, I’m volunteering at an organization that assists those living with HIV/AIDS and those affected by HIV/AIDS.
This blog is my attempt to chronicle my Peace Corps experience from application to finish. Instead of boring my friends with relaying the same stories over and over, I figured it would be easier just to blog everything.
I became interested in serving in the Peace Corps a couple of years ago, but I had not graduated yet, I still had a car payment, and I still had a lease. I was forced by life to act like a grown-up. I was laid off this past January (through no fault of my own) from a job I had held for nearly nine years. I figured that this is the perfect time to pursue what I really want to do – join the Peace Corps! So as a New Year’s present to myself I applied.
I’m not the typical age of a Peace Corps volunteer (I’m in my early 30s) so I tend to get more lectures on how I’m crazy to do this, and that I should stay home and work a nice corporate job. Sometimes I think they are right, but sometimes I think they are too scared to pursue their own dreams. It doesn’t bother me that people think I’m crazy. After all, I think that anyone that voluntarily wants to leave the comforts of their home for two years to live in a place that very well may not have running water, or electricity, or toilets has to be a little crazy to get by. All I can think of is what I hope to accomplish when I get over there, and the smiles that the people of my new home are bound to bring to my face. That’s enough for me to want to do it.
Sometimes it’s been an uphill battle trying to fulfill all of the requirements that the Peace Corps has required of me, but after much patience and persistence I have obtained dental, medical, and legal clearance. I received my official invite in September 2008, and now I’m preparing for my departure in January 2009. That’s where my story stands for now.
Hi Nadine.
Just wanted to thank you for your blog and your post on yahoo groups!
Your blog is very informative and sort of allays my fears of rejection for Monday (I had my interview yesterday, Friday, and he said he’d get back to me then).
I graduated from UT Austin with a BA in Soc.
I was doing a BS in Psych but ended up not.
It’s nice that you have time to volunteer… I haven’t really had a chance in a long time.
But he said I need to get CPR certified and also start doing some volunteering… I’m hoping Planned Parenthood will help me out. So I can help them out. I’ve always wanted to volunteer there… oh look, I’m babbling! Sorry about that.
Looks like you’re waiting on your invite, so that’s awesome! Good luck.
I too, if I get nominated, will be dealing with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (I expressed interest in mainly working with women and children regarding sexual and reproductive health).
Once again, thank you so much!
~ Megan