Aspiration Statement

PCVs are required to write an aspiration statement a week after receiving our invitations to serve. Mine is below:

A: Professional attributes you plan to use and aspirations you hope to fulfill:
I plan on using several professional attributes in my Peace Corps service in natural resource management (NRM), from my skills learned at a development internship at an NGO to my experience working in agriculture. However, the core of these attributes is my educational background. At Xavier University, I majored in the unique Philosophy, Politics, & the Public Honors Program. This interdisciplinary program studies the unifying concepts of civic engagement and the public sphere with an international focus. Through taking classes in philosophy, political science, economics, and history, I have synthesized new ways of thinking regarding public life and service. My experience in bringing together ideas from many different disciplines provides me with the necessary critical thinking background to achieve my goals during Peace Corps service.

Personal Aspirations:

• Learn about Mali, its culture, and its people
• Master French and gain a solid grasp of the local language
• Make new lifelong friends and be accepted into a community
• Learn from the challenges I face in patience, dedication, and with an open mind
• Bring what I learned back to the US to share with family and friends
• Avoid snakebites and sunburns

Professional Aspirations:

• Teach my community about sustainable development as it relates to NRM
• Develop long-term NRM plans that positively impact a community
• Gain a better understanding of the environmental challenges in Mali and West Africa
• Participate in secondary projects involving gender and development and HIV/AIDS education and awareness
• Learn more about international NGOs and the complexities of development
• Determine how best to use my skills to positively change the world after service – whether through graduate school, NGO work, or something completely different

B: Strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs: Working on a farm has taught me the importance of focus, dedication, patience, and a sense of humor, qualities which lend themselves well to working with host country partners. I am a hard worker, and my background in music has given me the creativity to think outside the box to find solutions. There are many challenging situations I might find myself in, but I plan to enter into them with an open mind and ready to ask questions – many questions.

C: Strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background: Before leaving, I plan on learning as much as I can about Mali, its people, its culture, and its traditions. If there is one thing I have learned from my diverse internship experiences, however, it is that all things are subject to change. For this reason, I will enter into my service as well-prepared as possible and with an open mind and heart. Through immersing myself in Malian culture with an accepting and nonjudgmental attitude, though not forgetting my own culture, I believe I will more quickly adapt and become an active member of my new community.

D: Skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training (PST): During pre-service training, I hope to gain a solid foundation for my work as a PCV. While I know I will not learn everything, having a deeper grasp of Malian culture, NRM in Mali, and language will give me knowledge that will be vital during my service. I expect PST to be demanding, challenging, and incredibly engaging.

E: How you think PC Service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends: It is hard to say how PC service will influence my aspirations after service, as the one thing I certainly expect from being a PCV is for it to challenge and change my worldview and life goals. Whether I further pursue an international path of development work, attend graduate school, or something else entirely, I hope that as a PCV I will acquire knowledge and experience that will assist me throughout my entire life.

The Beginning

Hey all--finally received my invitation about a week before graduating!! I'm going to be a natural resource management (NRM) volunteer in Mali. Here's a bit from the Peace Corps about what I'll be doing:

"Volunteers in Mali work with communities to reverse the effects of desertification through reforestation, agroforestry and environmental education programs, but most importantly, through the development of village-based natural resource management plans.

The NRM program in Mali is designed around the corner stones of sustainability - economics, ecology, and society.

• Economics: Volunteers educate individuals and associations about the importance of sustainable resource use, raising their capacity to generate income while protecting their resource base
• Ecology: Volunteers enable communities to evaluate the current status and threats to their natural resource base, raising their capacity to design and implement appropriate strategies to restore and preserve their natural resources.
• Society: Volunteers seek to understand local traditions and indigenous technical knowledge systems in order to inspire culturally appropriate innovation and empower underrepresented groups (women and children) to become participants in NRM.

NRM Volunteers are essentially extension agents who work with local communities and individuals in reforestation, soil conservation, forest management, and/or environmental education efforts. Volunteers are assigned to work with the Malian government's 'Forest and Environmental Service' and other Malian organizations involved in integrated rural development efforts."