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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-150
Melissa Loffler served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Georgia from 2013 to 2015 as a teacher. She completed in-country training in Kvishkheti, then taught English in a combined elementary and secondary school in Khashuri. Loffler talks enthusiastically about the country, Georgian food, and the close relationships she developed with her host families. She remains in touch with these friends and returned to Georgia in 2019. She also talks about friendships with other volunteers, whom she says she wouldn't have gotten to know as well under other circumstances. Loffler conducts an annual Peace Corps event in the Dallas area. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, September 10, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-149
Susan Goodman (nee Teller) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey from 1964 to 1966 as a teacher. Part of the Turkey IV group, she taught intermediate and advanced English in the Middle East Technical University in Ankara before being transferred to a primary school in Polatli, a village near Ankara. There, she taught English to 7th graders for about 5 months. Although Goodman loved Turkey and learned a lot through her experiences, she recounts two situations in which she believes Peace Corps treated her unfairly. Goodman was involuntarily transferred from the university because she failed students for plagiarism on exams, spoke up at faculty meetings, and allowed students to discuss religion in class. She believes that Peace Corps was trying to appease Turkish officials after the Peace Corps director had claimed diplomatic immunity when he killed a Turkish woman in an auto accident. Later, after she was strangled by her former Turkish boyfriend, she was denied visitors in the hospital and then summarily shipped back to the U.S. without the opportunity say good-bye to friends and colleagues. Goodman also discusses carrying papers on the Palestinian situation into Turkey and meeting with what turned out to be Turkish Maoists on a return trip to Turkey after the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, September 17, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-148
Josephine (Jody) Olsen served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia from 1966 to 1968 as a teacher. Subsequently, she has held numerous Peace Corps positions in the field and in headquarters culminating in her being appointed agency director in 2018. As a volunteer in Sousse, Tunisia, Olsen first taught English in an all-boys secondary school and later taught English to adults in the evening. She served alongside her husband, who was in a separate architecture program. Olsen talks about her struggle with learning French during training and the negative impact of the de-selection process in place at the time. She describes her close friendship with the family of a fellow teacher who taught her Arabic. She muses about the personal vulnerability and risk-taking that enables such deep cross-cultural friendships to form, and believes that this has been the essence of the Peace Corps experience over the years. Olsen also discusses the impact of her service on her career in and out of Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 26, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-147
Natasha (Tasha) Prados served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 2011 to 2013 on a water and sanitation project. She was stationed in Rio Grande, right off the Pan-American Highway about 8 hours south of Lima. There she worked to increase access to potable water, build the local community's first sewage system, install improved cook stoves for women cooking on open fires, and reduce trash burning. She also taught classes on HIV prevention, sanitation and hygiene, English, vocational orientation, and more than 300 hours of exercise classes. Prados talks positively about her host family and the general openness and friendliness of people in the community. However, she notes that she found the machista (machismo) culture and the relaxed attitude toward punctuality challenging. She concludes that in her experience, Peace Corps volunteers were not colonial imperialists, as she had feared, because local communities were deeply involved in development activities. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 25, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-146
Clinton Kellner served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 2016 to 2018 in the youth and development program. He had a 30-year career as an environmental consultant prior to joining. Kellner served along with his wife, Madeline, and they were stationed in an indigenous K'iche' community in the highlands of Guatemala. He was surprised by the cold temperatures there and felt unprepared for the conditions. Clinton worked with middle school students and taught lessons on such topics as life skills, self-esteem, sexual education, and leadership. In the interview he reflects on the behaviors and disinterest of the children in the classroom, but he enjoyed challenging their notions of gender roles. Kellner was also able to travel to a variety of places in Guatemala during his service. Interviewed by Margaret (Mardi) Nott, June 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-145
Pat Colonna served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 1993 to 1995 as a teacher. She was stationed in the city of Ulan Bator and lived in an old Russian apartment complex. Colonna endured food shortages during her service, and her group experienced quite a bit of violence and deep cold. She provides detailed descriptions of Naadam (a festival of archery, wrestling, and horse racing) and other Mongolian traditions. Interviewed and recorded by Margaret (Mardi) Nott, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-132
Edwin Fuller Torrey served as Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1964 to 1966 as a staff doctor. He applied after medical school and completed two days of orientation to tropical medicine at Columbia University, but no language training. Torrey initially flew to Dire Dawa and began volunteering in local hospitals and visiting the remote sites of other Peace Corps volunteers. After three months, he was assigned to Addis Ababa where he continued supporting volunteers in remote villages while learning Amharic with the help of a tutor. Working alongside Ethiopian and missionary medical practitioners taught him which doctors were reliable to assist sick volunteers in remote villages, introduced him to viable local practices, and awakened his interest in mental health care. Torrey's other projects included organizing the first health program for 7th and 8th graders using closed circuit TV, a two-week workshop to train biology teachers in secondary schools (resulting in an Ethiopian textbook), observing local witch doctors and results of their practices, and conducting an extensive medical survey and vaccination initiative in the remote reaches of the Blue Nile Gorge. Through the two years, Peace Corps volunteers remained the healthiest of his patients, but nevertheless one volunteer died (eaten by a crocodile). Torrey's experience in Ethiopia prompted him to become a psychiatrist and researcher in mental health. Interviewed and recorded by Patricia A. Wand, August 31, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-131
Tom Roschke served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1970 to 1972 in an agricultural development program. His training included instruction in the Tamil language and rice production techniques and was held over three months in California, the Philippines, and southern India. Roschke lived in a small village (Kovil Devarayan Pettai) of both Hindus and Muslims. He worked as an agricultural extension agent in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and demonstrated modern techniques of growing rice to the local farmers, including pest control and use of chemical fertilizers. Roschke had limited support from the southern India regional Peace Corps office and from the government of India. The interview includes his assessment of the success of the program and concludes with the story of how he met a young woman from a nearby town, whom he courted and subsequently married. Interviewed and recorded by Donald Camp, August 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-130
Gerald Jones served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1967 to 1971 as a teacher. He was inspired to join Peace Corps after first hearing about it in John F. Kennedy's 1960 campaign while he was in high school. His training began at a site outside of Boston and was completed in Ethiopia. Jones was first assigned to the town of Dessie, where he taught at a high school that was staffed by both expatriate and local teachers. He also taught English to adults in night school, and taught summer school in a different location. Jones extended his service and for his second assignment taught at a Teacher Training Institute in the town of Debre Birhan. As part of this job, he was able to travel to several other locations with teacher trainees for practice teaching assignments. After the Peace Corps, Jones worked in private industry for several years, and then returned to international work with Save The Children, the International Red Cross, and a local Ethiopian NGO. In the interview, he also discusses the changes he has observed in Ethiopia during return trips over the years. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, August 29, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-129
Donald Camp served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1970 to 1972 on an agriculture project. He trained first at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, and then in-country at the Rice Research Institute in Aduthurai. Camp was stationed in Sholapuram, a market town in Tamil Nadu state in southern India, and worked as an agricultural extension agent to promote the planting of hybrid varieties of rice. He talks about how his Peace Corps service led to a career with the U.S. Foreign Service and how he gained increased credibility due to his volunteer experience. Camp has stayed in touch with his fellow volunteers and is a member of the Friends of India group, which supports charitable activities in India. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 15, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-127
Patricia (Pat) Hogan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia from August 2015 to August 2017 in a community youth development program. She did not consider Peace Corps service until retiring from a career in education and hearing from a colleague about his experience as a volunteer in Poland. In Armenia, Hogan lived with a local family during training and the first few months of her service before moving to her own apartment. Her adjustment to the community was greatly aided by her relationship with the host family, whose daughter continued to tutor Pat and advise her in cultural matters. Hogan primarily worked at the Women's Resource Center in Goris, where the staff tried to get women involved in politics, assist in income generating enterprises, and provide domestic violence education. She also participated in English language education at a local school. The interview concludes with discussion of the Peace Corps' influence on her post-service volunteering. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, August 3, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-126
Charles Forbus served as a Peace Corps volunteer in programs for five different countries and also as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in Georgia. Forbus served in the U.S. Air Force after high school and had been inspired by John F. Kennedy's vision for the Peace Corps during the 1960 election, however he did not apply until after raising a family and retiring from AT&T. In 1997, he received his first assignment in Nepal, but had to resign for family-related reasons after completing pre-service training. He applied again and served in the Ukraine from 2002 to 2004 with an organization for disabled individuals, helping to automate record keeping at offices in Kiev and remote locations and providing computer training to the center's clients. In addition, he taught English as a secondary assignment. Next Forbus served in Honduras from 2011 to 2012 with one NGO that supported small farmers and another that supported people with HIV. That assignment was cut short when Peace Corps pulled out of the country due to unrest and security issues. Forbus applied again and was invited to serve in Madagascar in February 2013, but sustained a severe knee injury during training and was unable to continue in that program. In May 2014, he undertook a six-month Peace Corps Response assignment in the Republic of Georgia working with a youth organization to develop training programs in leadership, citizenship, and communications. Finally, Forbus served in Armenia from 2015 to 2017 working with locals to develop their tourism industry. The interview covers each assignment as well as the continuing impact of the Peace Corps on Forbus' life. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, August 3, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-125
Jean van Nest served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Oman from 1976 to 1978 as a nurse. She trained in Sur. Her first project was on Masirah Island where she worked with Save the Children at a well-baby clinic to help educate the population and provide smallpox vaccinations. She also worked at encouraging breastfeeding, as access to clean water was a problem. Very few people in the rural area had electricity but they remained connected to the rest of the world via shortwave radio. At her second post in Sohar, she was stationed with quite a few volunteers from India. Van Nest discusses the local environment and housing, a wrist injury she sustained during her service, and how women in Muslim countries live. She says that the Peace Corps opened her eyes to how similar people are worldwide despite their (ultimately) superficial differences. Interviewed and recorded by Margaret Nott, June 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-124
Daniel Ach served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan from 2004 to 2006 as an English teacher. He had Russian language training while living with a Uyghur family. Ach taught English (as a co-teacher) in the village of Tarhanka. He felt his job was to be a catalyst for change, moving the education system away from rote learning and towards more constructivist learning styles. He struggled to befriend the men in the village due to different social norms. Readjusting to the U.S. was also hard as he had grown accustomed to a slower pace of life in Kazakhstan. During his service, Ach began dating a Kazakh woman that he met at a conversation club and they later married. They have both been back to Kazakhstan to visit. At the time of the interview, Ach was working at the University of Texas as a study abroad program advisor. Interviewed and recorded by Margaret Nott, June 20, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-122
Richard (Dick) Wood served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1964 to 1966 on a community development project. He had studied philosophy and engineering at Yale. His training was with an all-male group, Iran 5, first in Utah and then for a week in the agricultural college outside of Tehran. Wood was stationed in Sari in the province of Mazandaran. He and a friend were placed with a government community development firm that went around the province gathering information about what the people in villages needed, surveying, and drawing up proposals. Wood describes the warmth of the Iranian people and how his worldview expanded. He often talked with locals about American foreign policy and other matters. After the Peace Corps, Wood traveled with friends before returning to the U.S. to enter graduate school in Middle Eastern studies. He continued to work in the Middle East for several years. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, July 16, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-121
Chuck Ludlam served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal from 1968 to 1970 on an agriculture project. He also served in Senegal from 2005 to 2007. His training for Nepal occurred in Terai and involved instruction in the Maitahlai language. Ludlam was stationed in the town of Haripur, a very isolated rural community with harsh conditions, and he worked with Nepali agricultural extension counterparts promoting the planting of hybrid rice and wheat seeds. In Guinguineo, Senegal, he served with his wife Paula Hirschoff. They planted trees and promoted small business development. Much of the interview is devoted to Ludlam's criticism of Peace Corps management, especially in Senegal, and the advocacy work he and his wife did both during their service and afterwards to improve transparency in Peace Corps operations and empower volunteers through policy and legislative change, especially regarding whistleblower rights for volunteers and staff. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, July 24, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-120
Evelyn Kohl (now LaTorre) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 1964 to 1966 in a RCA Tools community service project. She had previously done missionary work in Mexico through the Catholic Church and heard Sargent Shriver speak at a conference. She describes the extensive physical and language training at Cornell University and in Puerto Rico, as well as the winnowing down of her large class of trainees. After arriving in Peru, she recounts the difficulty in finding a town to serve in and a job that would help the poor. After settling in Abancay, LaTorre coached a soccer team and ran clubs with the young people in a nearby town. Her ability to sew and her experience in 4-H were heavily utilized. She also talks about her romance with her (now) husband, their wedding after completing service, and returning to the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, July 11, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-119
Lew Jones served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji from October 1968 to January 1973 on a cooperatives project. His prior military service on a U.S. Navy destroyer influenced his decision to serve less developed populations. While finishing his undergraduate degree, Jones met a Peace Corps recruiter and decided to apply. He was initially invited to Malaysia, but that offer fell through, and he was then invited to Fiji. He was in the second training group of the Fiji program, which was held on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Once in Fiji, Jones worked with cooperatives, initially in rural villages and later at the main training center in Suva. He lived on an outer island, in a small town, and in a suburb of the capital city on the main island of Viti Levu. By the end of his service, Jones had successfully trained his local counterpart to take over his job. He developed lasting relationships with the locals and continues to remain in touch with them. He has visited Fiji three times since completing his service, including a Habitat for Humanity build in 2011 with Friends of Fiji, and in 2018 for the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps Fiji. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, July 16, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-118
Jennifer DaPolito served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania from February 2015 to March 2017 in a community health program. She describes her background in international development and the relevant permaculture skills she gained from working on a small homestead farm prior joining. Her training included a community-based home-stay, cluster-based language and culture training, and a 3-month community entry and mapping phase in the village where she would serve, Idetero. DaPolito emphasizes that the most meaningful parts of her service were the close personal and work-related relationships she cultivated with the women and girls, especially her work training women to be "nutrition mamas" and training children to make re-usable sanitary pads. She also talks about witnessing the lasting impact that volunteers can have among the people with whom they live and work. After the Peace Corps, DaPolito completed a master's degree in public health and is writing a book about the resiliency of the girls and women she met during her service. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-117
Madeline Kellner served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from September 2016 to December 2018 in the healthy schools program. She joined the Peace Corps in her 60s after having served as a public agency executive director, city council member, and mayor. Kellner served alongside her husband, Clinton. Her 10-week in-country training combined 3 days a week of technical training at the Peace Corps office in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas with language and cultural training in the homes of the local host families. During training Kellner lived with a family in the Barrio La Cruz neighborhood in the town of Pastores. She talks about her work with the education and health departments as part of the Healthy Schools program to promote healthy behaviors and reduce malnutrition in the small town of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. She was the first Healthy Schools volunteer in the community and was assigned to a primary school. Kellner also discusses how the Peace Corps handled her temporary medical evacuation back to the U.S., and reflects on the different priorities that older volunteers have for their service. She encourages the Peace Corps to more actively recruit older candidates. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-116
Yoomie Huynh served as Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 2007 to 2009 in community youth development. She later also served as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in the Republic of Georgia from 2013 to 2014. She talks about being a first generation immigrant growing up in a poor Vietnamese household in Sioux City, Iowa, and volunteering as a teenager. In Darkhan, Mongolia, Huynh worked as a social worker, assisted the kindergarten program, and taught life skills with the Asian Child Support organization. With Peace Corps Response in Tbilisi, Georgia, she served as a youth program development consultant with the Children and Youth National Center, a public entity under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. This experience set her on a career path in policy and politics. After the Peace Corps, Huynh worked in Tajikistan for the International Organization for Migration on such issues as human trafficking, child labor, gender issues, and reintegration programs. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, July 1, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-115
Martha Fedorowicz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from March 2012 to May 2014 in a youth development program. She was responsible for programming in the youth center in El Borouj, a small city in the middle of the country. There, she taught English and French, created an environmental club, established a computer lab, and ran a youth entrepreneurship program in conjunction with INJAZ Al Maghrib, the Junior Achievement program in Morocco. She also taught a women's aerobics class and worked with women in her community to develop a festival. Based on her very positive experience working with women and youth, Fedorowicz believes the Peace Corps should be thought of as an international relationship-building program more than an international development program. She also discusses the sexual harassment she experienced as a young foreign woman in Morocco. After her service and a backpacking trip to East Africa, she attended graduate school at the University of Michigan where she taught a class on Arab culture and served as a Peace Corps recruiter. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, June 29, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-114
Stephen (Steve) Wiley served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji from 1970 to 1971 as an elementary school teacher. His decision to join was influenced by his desire to pursue a career in teaching and to avoid the draft. He applied and was invited to Fiji, but then realized that he wanted to get married first. He and his new wife Sally applied together and were selected for the next Fiji training group. Training was conducted in Hilo, Hawaii, and covered Fijian language and culture as well as teacher training. Wiley taught at an elementary school in the rural village of Laselevu, where he and his wife were the only non-Fijian teachers, and he spent a great deal of time preparing lesson plans. In retrospect he regrets not socializing more with the men of the village to gain a better understanding of their lives and viewpoints. After completing their two years of Peace Corps service, the Wileys stayed in Fiji for an additional year while Steve continued as a teacher and Sally served as headmistress of the Fiji School for the Intellectually Handicapped. The interview includes discussion of living conditions in the village and visits to other parts of Fiji. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, June 30, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-113
Mark Troy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from February 1972 to May 1975 as an English teacher. He and his wife, Mary Fran, joined as a couple. Their preferences were South America and Africa, but they accepted the first invitation to Thailand. They attended a pre-invitational staging in Denver where they were given a brief introduction to Thai culture. Training in language, culture, and teaching techniques was conducted in two locations in Thailand, a small fishing village and a college. The Troys were given a choice of being stationed in a town with or without a U.S. military presence, and they chose one without (Phitsanulok). Mark's job was to train teachers at a college. They extended for a third year, and he took a new assignment at Chiang Mai University. After completing Peace Corps service, he applied for a job at a local university and the couple stayed in Thailand for another two years. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, June 23, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-112
Terry Adcock served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from June 1961 to July 1963 in community development. Prior to joining Peace Corps, Adcock was politically active and a strong supporter of John F. Kennedy. When the Peace Corps was announced, he immediately decided to join. His group, Colombia I, was the first to undergo Peace Corps training, which was conducted at Rutgers University. It included language, community development, history, and physical fitness. Prior to departing, Adcock's group was invited to the White House to meet President Kennedy. Upon arrival in Colombia the group was housed at an experimental agriculture station in Tibaitata where additional training was provided. On weekends the trainees lived with local families. Adcock was assigned to the town of Cogua, along with another volunteer and a local counterpart. They shared living quarters and worked as a team. The interview includes a discussion of Adcock's experience working with the local community, traveling in-country, and meeting visiting VIPs from the U.S., including JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, June 22, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).