Juliane Molesworth, a former marketing major with a minor in Spanish, graduated from Mississippi State University in 2010. Molesworth is currently living in the small town of Paccha, Peru, volunteering with the Peace Corps. Molesworth decided in high school that she wanted to join the Peace Corps after college.
“I knew I wanted to do something different after college, something other than an entry-level desk job” she said.
Something different is exactly what Molesworth did. She is currently one of the very few MSU students serving with the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 with the purpose of promoting world peace and friendship. Since 1961 over 200,000 Americans have served in 139 countries.
The Peace Corps sends volunteers to developing countries where they are responsible for creating a program to benefit the community they are assigned.
Molesworth’s program is community and youth development so her work typically centers on young kids and teenagers. When she arrived in Paccha she did a community diagnostic to see how she could help during her stay.
“It’s great because volunteers can do almost anything they want as long as the community has some need for it,” Molesworth said.
Since Molesworth’s time in Peru, she has taught English, computer classes, reproductive health, social theater, women’s empowerment and more. She has also organized activities for AIDS awareness and prevention.
Molesworth’s main project, however, is the reactivation of the community library in Paccha. Despite the fundraising efforts of the town, the library still needs bathrooms, tables, chairs and books. Molesworth has set up a grant on the Peace Corps website for donations from the public.
Alethea Parker, the Southeast Regional Public Affairs specialist for the Peace Corps, served in Cameroon as a business volunteer.
“You have a lot of time on your hands, so if you see something you are passionate about you are allowed to create a second program,” she said.
Parker said many volunteers even do three-tier programs within their community if they see a specific need.
Lyn Fogle, assistant professor of linguistics/TESOL at MSU, decided to apply for the Peace Corps the fall of her senior year of college. She, like Molesworth, wanted to get some quality experience to set herself apart from the average job applicant.
“I wasn’t ready to enter the workforce and wanted to use what I had learned in college to serve the Peace Corps,” she said.
Fogle served her time in the Ukraine teaching English to high school students. She attributes her passion for linguistics to her time spent in Ukraine with the Peace Corps.
“For everyone I know, the Peace Corps really shaped our future careers,” she said.
Another goal of the Peace Corps is for volunteers to promote a better understanding of the people of foreign countries when they arrive back in the United States.
Fogle is still serving the Peace Corps by focusing her research on how well adopted Ukrainian and Russian children integrate into American culture. She is currently writing a book that explores this research.
Fogle said time spent with the Peace Corps shows dedication and the ability to handle difficult situations.
“I learned more than I was able to give back to these students,” Fogle said.
Molesworth said she has also learned an immense amount from her service to the Peace Corps, including patience and the value of life.
“Projects move slowly here, and Peruvians are about at least an hour late for events and meetings. I’ve learned to relax because most everything isn’t as big of a deal as I think it is,” she said. “Material things don’t matter. The brand of clothes or a car or jewelry doesn’t matter. Family, friends and community are what matters.”
Molesworth, Parker and Fogle all agree the most rewarding experience of volunteering is the immense amount of personal growth volunteers experience during their service.
“Here I am trying to make a difference in a small town in Peru, and I am the one being transformed,” Molesworth said.
Parker said two years with the Peace Corps makes you a more passionate and confident person.
“What I like to tell people is that getting out of your comfort zone is a personal development,” she said.
At the end of two years volunteers can put in a request to extend their stay another year. When asked if she would do it all over again there was no doubt in Molesworth’s answer that she would consider signing up for two more years.
For more information about Juliane Molesworth or the Peace Corps visit peacecorps.gov and julianemolesworth.blogspot.com.