Returned Peace Corps volunteers come to Western
Western's Peace Corps Fellows program draws returned volunteers to continue their graduate study with its benefits
Rebecca Jania
Issue date: 11/2/05 Section: News
Students at Western Illinois University are provided with various opportunities to assist local residents, Western's All Volunteer Effort and Volunteer Now are just a couple groups that serve this purpose. However, some students may find that their desire to help others takes them overseas.
Angela Sanders, recreation, park and tourism administration graduate student, is one of those students who said she has always had a desire to help the less fortunate. This desire, combined with a passion to travel and experience other cultures, guided her to join the Peace Corps.
"I served in Malawi, Africa from 2000 to 2002 as a health volunteer. I went to work with HIV (and) AIDS, but ended up doing more water and sanitation work because that's what the people in my village and those surrounding me seemed to need more urgently," Sanders said.
She said her experiences abroad with the Peace Corps gave her the opportunity to assimilate herself into the culture of a developing country.
"(After serving), I believe I have a broader outlook on life and the world," she said. "It's one thing to go visit a different country for a week, stay at a resort and meet those (who) work there. It's an entirely different thing to live and work with and learn the language and culture of those in a developing country."
"I have a great respect for women in those countries. They work tirelessly with no respect and rarely complain," Sanders added. "I am also reminded of how very lucky I am to have had the chance to actually experience life this way for a short time, how very lucky I am to not have to live through the hard times they have, but also to have been able to share in the good times."
However, Sanders added she encountered some difficulties when returning to life in the United States after her time in the Peace Corps.
"It was weird to see big grocery stores with lots of choices of every kind of different food one could imagine," Sanders said.
Angela Sanders, recreation, park and tourism administration graduate student, is one of those students who said she has always had a desire to help the less fortunate. This desire, combined with a passion to travel and experience other cultures, guided her to join the Peace Corps.
"I served in Malawi, Africa from 2000 to 2002 as a health volunteer. I went to work with HIV (and) AIDS, but ended up doing more water and sanitation work because that's what the people in my village and those surrounding me seemed to need more urgently," Sanders said.
She said her experiences abroad with the Peace Corps gave her the opportunity to assimilate herself into the culture of a developing country.
"(After serving), I believe I have a broader outlook on life and the world," she said. "It's one thing to go visit a different country for a week, stay at a resort and meet those (who) work there. It's an entirely different thing to live and work with and learn the language and culture of those in a developing country."
"I have a great respect for women in those countries. They work tirelessly with no respect and rarely complain," Sanders added. "I am also reminded of how very lucky I am to have had the chance to actually experience life this way for a short time, how very lucky I am to not have to live through the hard times they have, but also to have been able to share in the good times."
However, Sanders added she encountered some difficulties when returning to life in the United States after her time in the Peace Corps.
"It was weird to see big grocery stores with lots of choices of every kind of different food one could imagine," Sanders said.
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