you want to join what? the peace corps?

Hey!

Since i basically spent this past week trying to explain to my family friends who were travelling with me through Alaska about the Peace Corps, i thought i might shed some light to anyone reading this blog as to what prompted me to apply (I've provided a short version, a summary of sorts, for those of you who just want to skim this post, as well as a long version for anyone interested in delving into my psyche) :

the short version

It's something I've wanted to do for a long time; I want an adventure; It's a REALLY great career opportunity; It's my way to start "saving the world"...

the long version

So there I am sitting in Junior's flipping through the Technique quietly, skimming for interesting articles while munching on my chicken tenders. That's when I see it: "Your Life is Calling. How Far Will You Go?" and advertisement for the US Peace Corps. For some wierd reason, those words resonated with me. Maybe it was just the emotional place I was at the time with concerns about what I was going to do post-graduation; maybe my soul just wanted an adventure in some far off exotic place. Whatever the reason, I knew that my life was calling to me and it was telling me to join the Peace Corps.

Before I go on, I must explain a little about what the Peace Corps is to all my non-US family and friends. The US Peace Corps is a federal agency committed to world peace and friendship. It was established by President John F. Kennedy's Administration in 1961. The Peace Corps was founded upon three simple goals:

1) Helping the people of interesed countries in meeting their need for trained men and women

2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served

3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans

The program consists of placing volunteers in developing countries that request the assistance of the United States through the disemination of knowledge and transfer of skills to that community in certain areas such as health, agriculture, education, business, etc. Volunteers involved first undergo 3 months of in-country training followed by a 24-month permanent site placement where they are supposed to integrate into the community and work on projects related to their field (do the math and that comes out to 27 months of total service). They are typically assigned individually and the goal is to develop self-sustaining projects to benefit the community so that after the volunteer leaves, the project is not dependant on an outsider. Integration into the community is faciliated by the volunteers partcipating in homestays during training and then being adopted into families in site. The Peace Corps is currently serving in 73 countries on all 6 continents.

So why would someone like me, who had aspirations of becoming a pediatric neuro-oncologist be interested in a program like this? For me it all really started my freshman year of college where I met many people who were committed to serving the underprivileged community and I realized that I want to do the same. I believe that health is a human right and there are violations of this right everywhere in the world. I want to stop this and the best way I know how is through public health. As much as medicine interests me, I am also interested in other fields such as international development, management, health policy, sociology and anthropology. Public health is basically the intersection of these disciplines and regardless of what I eventually end up doing, it will be public health related.

I've realized that I want to live my life in service to others. And if I don't build the foundation of my life on service, it becomes very unlikely that I'll be able to really live my life the way I want to. I see the peace corps and my future masters in public health as my foundation for which I want to build my medical career on. I don't feel that I have to choose between healing individual people and helping communities of people with their health needs; it's all about balance. To see an example of someone who has acheived a sort of balance, read up on my hero, Dr. Paul Farmer (I honestly believe that you can't understand what I want to do with my life until you read about him. Check out either Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder or one of Dr. Farmer's books AIDS & Accusations, Infections & Inequalities, or Pathologies of Power). He's an incredible person and I hope to do international health work similar to him someday.

Other reasons for joining:

- i love travelling, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and of course, learning new languages!!!

- think of the peace corps as an incredible career opportunity, especially for the field that I eventually want to enter; opportunity to experience the health challenges of the people I eventually want to help

- i heard the Fellows USA program is working on expanding into other graduate programs including public health so I may be able to get a scholarship to go to graduate school

- free health insurance and dental insurance, not to mention a stipend for when i return

- the peace corps as a diet? maybe i'll finally lose the weight I've been trying to lose for some time lol

- i want an adventure. how cool would it be to say "I lived in XYZ (some exotic country) in a mud hut on the beach for 2 years with the Peace Corps!" [clarification: mud hut and beach location are dependant on resources of my site]

I know that these may not seem like a good enough reasons for some people to join the Peace Corps from your perspective; but I'm not here to change your mind or force my opinion on you. I'm simply stating facts. I'm joining to make a difference in this world...

anyways, I hope that helped you understand my perspective a little more. Also, feel free to ask me any kinds of questions you may have about my process so far. I know I'm only in the preliminary stages of the process but I know a lot more than a person who is just beginning to research the Peace Corps program :)

ciao for now,

-Nikhil