Peace Corps Essays

As you may have found out during your initial application, Peace Corps asks you to write two essays (500 words or less). At first this is daunting, but once you have your topic this does not seem to be nearly enough space. I think they design it this way, and remember if you are selected these essays will be what your fellow volunteers and support staff read when you arrive in your host country.

When I was writing mine I was lucky enough to get advice from a recruiter my family knew:

consider (in general, not just for the essays):
*Do you know the mission statement and 3 goals of Peace Corps? Do some research online if necessary.
*How flexible are you about where you go? Flexibility is very important to demonstrate, but only if you sincerely mean it.
*Are you comfortable working in unstructured and ambiguous work environments? Are you self-motivated without someone directing you?
*Are you truly open to being immersed in another culture, even if it means sacrificing your own comfort and preferences in order to assimilate?
*What previous experiences can you highlight that could help you succeed in the Peace Corps?
*Are you willing to gain additional experiences, perhaps additional volunteer experience here stateside, between applying and getting on the plane? 


Now all of that said it is still important to tell your story and still convey why you want to join up, and what you want to do there. Talk about how this experience made you who you are today.

                                                   

Finally, I went through over five drafts on each essay having friends, family, and even English tutors read over them for grammar (not my strong suit. I'm a science geek, not a English major like many PC applicants). Remember this is just the beginning of not just your application, but possibly your next two or three years!

So without further ado

Essay #1 (499 words)

My family was able to benefit from many volunteer organizations as we were never exactly well off growing up. The greatest lesson these groups taught me was how vital it is to give back. The value of respect, taking responsibility for your actions, and utilizing knowledge to help those around you are all important lessons I took to heart. As time passed I gained some world perspective and felt a strong calling to help those in other countries. America has the luxury of these charity programs that helped me in my youth. Now I am at a position in my life, education, and experience to give back to those who are less fortunate. 

One of my most memorable volunteer efforts was building a home for a poverty-stricken family in Mexico. While there I noticed that, while housing was an issue, food seemed to be an even larger predicament. Their land was in constant drought and the soil was barely fertile enough for cactus. Without the necessary nutrition, the health in their community would diminish and further exacerbate their plight. This led me to my specialty today. 

I decided to dedicate my education and experience to human and environmental biology. The Peace Corps specialties of health, environment, and agriculture were my target areas once I learned of the program some time ago. To me the Peace Corps symbolized everything that America could and should be seen as. I want to lend my hand and give back, learn about new people, their cultures, and their ways of living. I strongly believe that they have just as much to teach us as we have to teach them. 

I feel that I will have few issues satisfying the 10 Core Expectations as I try to live my life by similar ideals already. That said I still have a few concerns. Regarding expectation 7, will there be a situation where I don't know what I am doing is illegal? If I familiarize myself with the differences between our laws and take special care to understand why these laws are in place, this scenario can be avoided. Expectation 4 also carries some implications, specifically in communication. First impressions can mean so much, I would not want to blunder vocabulary and accidentally insult someone. Even so, I'm looking forward to the challenge of learning a new language, and if a mistake is made, every encounter is an opportunity to learn and adapt.

Whenever I am in a culture different from my own, I honor their values, beliefs, and respect their ways of life. I am accustomed to sleeping in the dirt, working a hard days labor, and being away from those I know and love for extended periods of time. I am a fast learner and would consider this service an exciting challenge. I would be honored to utilize my knowledge and skills to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in whatever country I am needed to help support health, agricultural, and/or environmental education and growth.

Essay #2 (also 499 words)

 

As a young man I had the opportunity to assist in building a house for a poverty stricken family in Mexico. There were fourteen of them; all living in an old rusty RV save for the father. He would sleep every night by the building materials, which had been dropped off three months prior to our arrival, to make sure they were not damaged or stolen. Initially this concept frightened me, were things so bad that you had to protect a 2x4 night and day? I remember being overcome with an anticipation of the unknown. I found myself insatiably interested in answers, knowledge of this foreign family, and how their lives differed from mine.

While there, I worked in building their new home and established friendships with the children. I relished in learning their stories, thoughts, and dreams. I found myself a student and teacher by exchanging what we knew and what this knowledge meant. Over time I formed a strong friendship with one of the sons, Roberto. He showed me the surrounding land, its wildlife, their difficulty in maintaining a garden to provide food for his family, as well as the beauty in this seemingly infertile land. I was astonished at his generosity as he and his siblings would share their small harvests with the surrounding families. When I asked him about this, in broken English, he would simply say, "I give, they give, we live". That is when the reality of their situation sank in.

When the house was finished, they hosted a party to celebrate the accomplishment. I was astonished at the new foods, dances, customs, and experiences. Everything swirled in color and excitement; this was the answer to my earlier question. This was an accepting, humble, loving community from which I would, and have, learned many lessons. While we were able to give this family a house, the problem with providing themselves with food continued to concern me. I decided I needed to find a way to help others in this situation.

This memory always served as a reminder for what I wanted to achieve in my life. When I could, I joined the AmeriCorps as an intermediate step to further understand the ideals that would help prepare me for the Peace Corps. As the Peace Corps instills the values and ideals I hold dear, they seem the perfect organization to strive for. They would give me the opportunity to achieve my personal goal and desire to help communities, like Roberto's, in their health, environmental, and agricultural issues. Through my education in human biology, and my work experience in environmental biology, I have attempted to broaden my abilities in order to help my fellow man in as many ways as possible. I would like the next stage of my life to be devoted to serving in the Peace Corps as I believe I can represent my country to the world in a positive light while further learning and instilling the organization's values in my life.