Go Bears!

john Keller, please leave your contact info into Chat.

John Keller, jkeller2@peacecorps.gov

my colleagues work in Shiprock now!

Question: since the current "health insurance" by PC post-COS does NOT meet minimum ACA, does the reauthorization act expect ACA-qualified health insurance going forward?

When my kids are bigger (they are 6 and 2) we plan on going back. I served with my wife.

Unfortunately, I served in Honduras in the past decade. So many of my friends have emigrated. Few folks to visit. :(

I can’t wait to make it back to Ukraine 😭😭

a lot of Ukrainians have also ended up in the States, or Germany, or Qatar... but my counterparts are so devoted to their community, and I love knowing they’ll be there

Hello I am a university student thinking about what im going to do after graduation and considering the peace corps. i would really appreciate hearing some day in the life stories of what a typical day might look like, perhaps both then in the 60's and now espcially. I am intrested in agriculture and the envirnment, the important intersection of these two things, and I have been learning spanish over the past 4 years or so

I bet most of us would say ‘there’s no typical day in your Peace Corps service’ :)

Yes, I was just about to say exactly that! Also your Spanish doesn't mean you will go to a Spanish-speaking country!

At least folks can apply to specific regions/countries for now. Pending any adjustments for getting folks back out post-COVID

haha yep! I studied Spanish up through graduate school and did work on rural development in Peru. When I applied for Peace Corps, they sent me to Ukraine! it was the last place I expected to go

and now my Ukrainian is much better than my Spanish 😅

im open to going somewhere that isnt spanish speaking, just a bonus in a place that does use that language. For example I am intrested in the agroforestry program in africa.

thats funny cortney

Being bilingual helps in learning a new language quickly. The bilingual trainees in my group picked up their African languages a lot easier than the trainees who only knew English.

Go for it, Isaac! We are all waiting to see what Peace Corps will look like in the future. I'm sure there'll be a place for you!

What’s your major Isaac?

Welcome Isaac! Thanks for joining! I was an urban agriculture volunteer in Senegal and my day in the life ranged from digging garden beds with students for a school garden program to assisting with tree planting for a prison orchard. Other days looked like visiting a friend and taking a nap in their court yard after lunch. Like Emily said, there is no typical

Question: Any chance of getting better mental health support for PCVs/RPCVs added to the reauthorization act? We had assembled the RPCV health survey last year and one key item that surfaced was insufficient mental health support during AND after service.

seconding May’s point. And making mental health an easier matter in medical clearance. My experience with medical clearance was pretty ridiculous

thank you for sharing emilie

my major is international studies with a concentration in "third world devlopment"

at Humboldt state

Wow! That’s tree territory up there, Isaac!

working on a minor in rangeland resource science right now as well, which im really just doing to learn about soil

yeah im out in the forest on my mountain bike every day

Issac, you have a wonderful faculty of RPCVs, Matthew Derrick, Celeste Robertson and Beth Wilson are all fantastic

If anyone is further interested in the Peace Corps, email me at jkeller2@peacecorps.gov

It’s so hard trying to speak with folks in our country of service about that

I hear many PCV volunteers talk about the need for a critical mass within a country to be effective. Will there be a trend to cover more countries with fewer volunteers/country or reduce the number of countries if funding is reduced?

Another key need that surfaced in the RPCV Health Crusade’s health survey was the need for free menstrual supplies provided in country so glad that Rep Meng’s Menstrual Equity in PC bill is included in the Reauthorization Act!

Thank you so much!

I’ll be in the screenshot covered in horsehair and still looking like I just took off my helmet 🤣

speaking of PC continuing to work in-country - we just got an amazing update from PC Ukraine today about how they’ve been helping food-insecure families during the pandemic

even without there being any volunteers

@John Keller I sent you screen shots via email

'There was no Critical mass' where I was-- most PCVs were solo. Those who were posted together seemed to engage less with their communities because they "had each other."