Aspiration Statement

Alright, I finally sent off my 'Aspiration Statement' to my in-country organizers!! Here it is...

A: Several key pathmarks in my educational and professional experience highlight the skills and passion I bring to social work Throughout my work in psychology and social work during my bachelors and Masters degrees I have sharpened my skills as an agent of social change and therapeutic service provider. First, while earning my B.A. in Psychology I spent my time learning the subtleties of human behavior and psychological dysfunction. I worked in research labs learning about how the home environment impacts childhood peer relationship formation, honing my skills of observation, empirical assessment, and understanding of diversity in family culture. I worked in a research lab studying domestic violence and abuse, perfecting my interviewing skills and empathic communication. In addition, I was the care provider of a 9-year-old boy diagnosed with Bi-polar Disorder. I was a mentor to him and his family, providing psychoeducation on his illness and therapeutic techniques that can aid in behavior modification, improving family interactions, and increasing the child’s level of functioning and awareness. This experience taught me patience, and developed my abilities in working with families.

Second, during my first year of my Masters of Science in Social Work (MSSW) I worked in a residential facility offering therapeutic services to adolescent girls who have experienced abuse, sexual, physical, psychological, or neglect. The treatment center was a team environment where I was afforded the opportunity to develop myself as a treatment team professional, understand appropriate utilization of supervision, and learn how to implement various individual and group counseling techniques. In my final semester of my professional training I worked as a Medical Social Worker at St. David’s Hospital. I performed psychosocial assessments, interventions, and engaged in discharge planning with patients in critical care. I sharpened my crisis-intervention skills and became effective at identifying, networking with and utilizing beneficial community resources.

It is from these experiences that I have refined my professional capacities, and I will bring these attributes to my Peace Corps work in St. Lucia. I expect that my patience, understanding of cultural diversity, empathic communication, compassion, team player attitude, therapeutic listening and intervention skills, ability to perform sensitive needs assessments, networking skills, and success in identifying community resources will play key roles in my professional work with at-risk youth and their families in St. Lucia. I have also worked to further my professional development in working with a company, Landmark Education, which helps facilitate better effectiveness in daily living. Through this company I coached participants ages 18 and up in personal motivation, achievement and effective living. I have faith that the empowerment skills I gained while working with this company will help me to empower myself in my work and empower the individuals and communities I will be working with in St. Lucia

B: In order to work effectively with St. Lucia partners to meet expressed needs I must first gain an understanding of how I may best be of service to the cause. I understand that I will need to gain respect within my community before I can be effective in my community. This will require me to focus on learning community customs and their way of life. Once I show that I can respect the community’s way of life and show that I am willing and able to integrate myself into their culture I can then be a professional resource for the community. Then, I can share my knowledge and skills and ask my partners how I can best serve the community. I look forward to working together to identify the resources and strengths that we can utilize to make positive change.

C: My strategy for adapting to a new culture is to spend a great deal of time observing, listening, and learning the norms and customs. When in a new environment it is helpful to observe your surroundings and learn as much as possible about the environment; then integration into the environment happens with more ease. Also, I like to take a hands-on approach. I will participate in learning the dialect, ask questions that can help me understand the culture, and be open to different cultural practices and customs. I will attempt to adopt a way-of-life that is influenced by both this new culture and my own cultural roots. I anticipate that I will participate in community events and share some of my culture with others, as well.

D: In pre-service training I hope to gain some skills and knowledge that can help me to best serve my future community and projects. I hope to learn more about the needs of my community, the language and dialect, safety guidelines, and integration tips based on past PCV experiences. In my training I hope that I can come to gain better preliminary understandings of and respect for St. Lucian way-of-life. I expect that I will learn about key issues that my community of destination faces and learn previously implemented strategies that have proven effective in attempting to ameliorate various social problems.

E: Serving in the Peace Corps fulfills both personal and professional aspirations. Learning about individuals and communities is a central focus in my life. Poverty, illness, and oppression force people to be perpetually concerned with their own survival, and limit the luxurious opportunity to focus on ones own happiness. However, this should not be a luxury in a world that has ample resources to feed the poor and heal the sick. My compassion and technical expertise inform my dedication to use myself and my skills to be an agent of social change. This means bringing happiness and resolve to other people’s lives and serving as an example of how compassion can powerfully instill hope and strength in others. Serving in the Peace Corps gives me the opportunity to serve my global community in a more direct way.

Furthermore, having cultural competency is indispensable in the field of social work. I wish to increase my knowledge and competence as a professional working in a field that serves diverse client populations. I expect that engaging various communities and new challenges will promote collaborative opportunities for growth and learning that will enable me to become a more effective and knowledgeable Social Worker. Finally, serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer will enhance my strength and independence. I desire to become more confident in my ability to go where my spirit guides me. To follow my heart and not be constrained by worries, fears, and life barriers is fulfilling to me. Conquering oneself is essential for those designed to serve others.

Invitation Acceptance

I called to accept my invitation. I will be leaving Austin on the evening of July 17th, only returning a couple of days to clean and get the last of my things. I have a bitter sweet taste in my mouth. I know that I am about to have an unforgettable, unimaginable, unexplainable experience; However, the thought of leaving Austin makes my heart heavy. I love this city, the friends I have made here, and well... of course there is this beautiful house I live in right now. Lets just hope I have electricity and running water at my St. Lucian destination. Ha, j/k; they say I will definitely have electricity and running water. I might even have cable and a phone! Now isn't that exciting.

More to come later... I'll post my packing guidelines later... I know I shouldn't be getting so stressed about packing, but geez... it is for 2 years. Some how I have to figure out what I can bring to wear that won't make me look like a tourist. Hmmm... I think they forgot that I haven't ever visited St. Lucia... what do the locals look like?!?! I have been on a mission to figure this one out.
Peace for now!

St. Lucia

Well, I got my invitation to St. Lucia, a little island in the Eastern Caribbean. To give you an idea of how large... or small the island is... it's smaller than the city of Austin and has a population of 160,000. (just for reference; the population of Austin is nearly 1 million) I will be working with the youth. I'm not sure what that will look like yet, but I will know more soon enough. My departure date is August 25th; whew, thats soon. I will be sworn in as a PCV on October 10th, and my service will last until 10/10/10 <---- is that lucky or what? I am getting more and more excited about going as time goes by, but there is a lot of preparing to do, and logistics to work out. For one, I have to write a 'Letter of Aspiration' to my host country letting them know who I am, what skills I have, and why I believe I can be a good resource for St. Lucia. The pressure is on, because I only have a vague idea at this time what I will be doing in St. Lucia. I am shifting between feelings of excitement and anxiousness.

I have been trying to start packing up my things in Austin. I am sad to leave such a wonderful city with so many beautiful people. However, I am looking forward to having a month to spend with my family and friends in Dallas before heading off to a tropical wonderland. As I pack for Dallas, I am trying to keep my Peace Corps packing guidelines in mind. I don't want to be searching through tons of boxes once in Dallas, trying to find the things I need to pack for the Peace Corps. Anyway, above is a map of where I will be going and below a picture I found of a beach in St. Lucia!

The Process

Here is a nice introductory blog I posted somewhere else a couple of weeks ago:

The Process

June 4th, 2008 by Gizmo.

This is my first blog. I want to give you an idea of what it is like to be in the Peace Corps from start to finish. First, it starts with the application…

Well folks, they said the application process was extensive. I didn’t know it would be excruciatingly slow. However, I cannot lay all the blame on the Peace Corps. The first hold up was caused by me. My curiosity first began to grow about a year ago; yes, a year. I browsed the site, read some blogs, did my research and finally began the application process in July of 2007. The bulk of the application, the part asking about everything from what’s your name to what kind of gynecological problems have you had in the past 5 years, was complete within a week.

After spending hours typing logistical information into little rectangular boxes and putting check after check into tinny little squares, the essays lie before me. For nearly 6 months I was daunted by the task of writing two fate deciding essays, one meant to convey my cultural-competence, and the other being a typical ‘why do you want to join the Peace Corps’ essay. For the former I reviewed essays online, most flaunting their extravagant life changing experiences. One guy did a year long internship in Morocco where he became enlightened on such social justice issues as religious expression and freedom, economic oppression, philosophies on health, and cultural differences in regards to racism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and sexism. I read about how the essays need to draw on one experience I had that demonstrates my ability to adapt in another culture. I didn’t have a Moroccan experience. All I could see is the serious of small but significant events throughout my life that molded my values into that of a Social Worker.

As for the latter essay… my thoughts… “What the fuck are they looking for here?” I know I can’t give a cliché answer like, ‘I want to help others.’ My response has to communicate my passion in a unique way. It wasn’t until November that I completed my essays. It took me another two months to hit the submit button. I had mole over all the worries and concerns I had about joining. In the end, I had to decide that my reasons for wanting to join were greater than any of my concerns.

Time goes by

A month+ later, I was scheduled for a 3 hour long interview. The interviewer was typing my response. If interviews make you nervous, imagine what it might be like to have someone staring you in the eyes and typing fiercely as you answer questions. You pause, she pauses; you start, click click click. At the end of the interview she asks me what my top three regions are. I tell her that Africa and Central America tie for first. She tells me that Latin America isn’t an option for me since I don’t know Spanish. She tells me that it looks like I will be going to Africa. She tells me I will get a call soon.

Time goes by

Weeks later I get a call from the Peace Corps. They are calling to inform me that I have been nominated for At-Risk Youth Development Programs in Southern Central America, scheduled to depart in August. She states that I can wait until January if I want Africa. I tell her that I will take Central America. I am very excited about this because of the opportunity to become fluent in Spanish.

Time goes by

I get my medical packet in the mail along with a call from the Peace Corps. The representative tells me that it is imperative that I get everything back to her in a timely fashion. She states that I am in a time crunch to leave for August. She tells me, they got my medical clearance deadline moved back to June 2^nd. I got on the phone right then with doctors. I received the packet end of March and it wouldn’t be until May that I could get it all complete. I needed updated immunizations, complete head to toe extended physical, dental exams, etc, etc. Since the Peace Corps only pays for a fraction of these exams, a total of $75 to be exact, I scheduled my appointments through the VA. The VA provides complimentary service to Peace Corps volunteers. However, the VA is a hugely overworked, understaffed bureaucracy and this slowed down the process. So, after my 8 tubes of blood were drawn and analyzed and my body was examined, down to every last scar and tattoo, my forms were signed and mailed off. I prayed that I didn’t forget anything on the 10 sections of medical paperwork.

Time goes by

Dental clearance comes in

Time goes by

5 days before my June 2^nd deadline, I call the Peace Corps wondering why my clearance is delayed. Medical tells me that the nurse knows of the time crunch, hasn’t reviewed my forms yet and will get back with me tomorrow. I get a call the next day from the nurse who reviewed my forms only after receiving my call. The nurse needs another blood test. SHIT! How did the VA take 8 tubes of blood and not test for everything needed? Now I know I am going to miss my deadline.

I take my labs to my doctor who informs me the blood test was administered and shows me where the results are on the lab report. I clear this up with the Peace Corps and ask them about my deadline. They push it back to mid-July and say that now I might be going to the Caribbean. I think this is fantastic, but I am not getting my hopes up. I have learned that things can change at any moment.

I still have a hold on my medical clearance, which should be cleared up in the next couple of days. Now, I also wait for my placement decision. It has been a true test of patience and flexibility.