Peace Corps: The Toughest Job You Will Ever Love
Graduate School: Because the Pain of Getting a Bachelors Just Wasn’t Enough
Master’s International: Let’s Get Together!
I was sitting in Physics II doing what every physics student does – drift off during the lectures. I had been talking to professors at different graduate schools, Air Force recruiters, and potential employers about my plans after graduating and nothing felt right. There was this gap in the story that I was missing. I know this may sound romanticized but I glanced at the bulletin board and saw a sign for the Peace Corps. I slowly put my books and pencils up and prompting left class. My whole life I had dreamed of serving in the Peace Corps but never did I think it would be possible, until now. The Peace Corps was one of those dreams that was more like a fantasy, rather than a goal. I had to go through major struggles to obtain my Bachelors degree and I was living in America, the land of opportunity. If it was so difficult for me to get a Bachelors I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for people living outside the US. They must be information starved. I felt that since I have been so lucky to learn so much from my education that I could show other people in other countries my persistence and share my knowledge. I knew that the information I received at A&M was rare and that maybe I could travel and share everything I have learned. This information could be as simple as how to navigate a college’s website to what the building blocks of life are composed of.
When I first started researching the Masters International program I couldn’t find a college at Texas A&M that resembled my bachelors degree so I moved on, until a professor pointed out to me that Plant Pathology includes molecular biology. After this realization I started contacting everyone I could in all the departments to find out if I was qualified.
The application for the MI program felt like a complicated tango, but everyone in all three sections (grad school, PC, and MI) were helpful with the details even though I went the reverse route when I applied to the PC first then to the masters program but with some adjustments we were able to work it out.
Like everything in the Peace Corps or more simply, like everything in life, everyday is a challenge and a learning experience. I studied for one year in the Plant Pathology department and in September of 2010 I was sent to Azerbaijan under the umbrella of the Community Economic Development sector. I am here with six other MI students from other universities, but most of their majors are in the social sciences. My latest related accomplishments have been: learning the translations for several plant diseases, and giving a presentation over global warming. Soon I will be working with another PCV to give a presentation over integrated pest management and some organic agriculture fun. I submitted my first grant on April 14th. If this grant is a success we will start construction on a greenhouse in the Barda region with a woman's group and a worm house in the Tartar region. Both of these buildings will be serving as Organic Agriculture Demonstration centers.
I get several questions about why I joined and what I plan to do after the Peace Corps. The above section tackles the past and the present, this next section will attempt to explain my future. If you have been reading my blog or have spoken to me, you are aware of my inability to keep a straight thought or explain myself with any type of clarity, BUT I will attempt this, for everyone's sake.
My immediate goal after the Peace Corps will be to finish my Masters in Plant Pathology. Now after this I have several forks in the road, which include more international work in agriculture or in the health sector. If I choose the ag sector then I will immediately turn around and apply for international work but if I fancy the health section I would like to start medical school with a focus in Infectious Diseases, Public Health, or Oncology, then take my knowledge to the international arena. OH and if any Azeri asks then my answer is "I will be getting married right after I return and having 3 lovely children." Ha!
