Interested in joining the Peace Corps after college? Natawnee Fritz A06 tells all about the application process, her volunteer experiences in Cape Verde, and the values of spending time abroad.
1. What was your major at Tufts? To what extent did Tufts and its international focus shape your decision?
I was always interested in international relations (IR) which is the reason why I chose to study at Tufts. At Tufts, I majored in IR, led Amnesty International, and studied abroad in Rome. During my second year, I took advantage of an opportunity offered by the IR department – the Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize. The prize enables the recipient(s) to undertake a research project, an internship, a volunteer activity, or a plan of study in any field involving international issues. I received a grant to volunteer in Uganda for a summer in order to work with a local NGO. There, I did HIV/AIDS education with women and youth, built houses, and led other local capacity building activities.
2. What inspired you to join the Peace Corps?
I knew that I wanted to work abroad. While the experience in Uganda was a great, I felt like I was just getting settled by the time I left. Peace Corps was attractive to me because it was two years. And with Peace Corps, I knew I would have a structured support system behind me as I volunteered. Also, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college so this seemed like a great opportunity to explore.
3. What is the Peace Corps application process like? What steps did you take to get accepted?
On average, it takes about a year to a year and half from the time one starts applying to the start of service. I was fortunate in that I began the process in the fall of my senior year and started service in the summer after graduation. The application, at least when I did it, included a long questionnaire, letters of recommendation, and an interview with a recruiter. The recruiter then decides to nominate you or not, moving your application from the local office to headquarters in Washington, D.C. Next, you go through medical and background clearances. Once, all of the clearances are approved, you are paired with a technical focus (i.e. education, community development, etc) and a country, and then sent an “invitation” to accept.
4. What advice do you have for students looking to apply to Peace Corps or similar-type programs?
Speak to other people who’ve done it. Peace Corps, and other volunteer programs, are different for each person, offering different benefits depending on who you are. Also, you don’t have to have international experience before applying. A commitment to service – which could be in your local community – or a specialized technical background can strengthen your application just as much as someone who has studied abroad.
With regard to the application, Peace Corps recruiters are really helpful. There’s a local office in Boston and the recruiters are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers themselves. Also, I would recommend you apply early. I was lucky to start so soon but I know a lot of people where the process took up to two years.
5. Can you describe your experiences? What kind of initiatives were you involved in?
I was a Community Development Volunteer with a local municipality in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the West Coast of Africa. I spent three months in training with the rest of the volunteers, learning the local language and Cape Verdean culture. Once I moved to my site, I worked without other volunteers at a local municipality.
Cape Verde is unique as a developing country because it has just passed the threshold to a middle-income country but remains that the bottom of this category. There is no extreme poverty and most of Cape Verde has electricity, even internet, and access to potable water. The question then became: how was I going to help people who are receiving an education, but aren’t receiving sufficient training to overcome key development gaps?
I decided to work with young women, mostly because it was an area in which I felt comfortable and where I felt I could make an impact. I created leadership camps for young women, bringing together female students from throughout the island I lived on. Young women typically take care of the household in Cape Verde and are often not able to experience opportunities outside of their school and home. Therefore, these camps afforded young women an opportunity to meet their peers and realize that they were not alone in their experiences. The camps featured female guest speakers, leadership and life skills activities, and education on women’s health. The camps have now been adopted by the national Ministry of Youth and implemented on several islands, among girls and boys.
6. What was your favorite part of the experience?
I don’t know if there will ever be one favorite – it always seems to change with what I’m most nostalgic about in the moment. In terms of work, I am proud of the work that I did with the young women of my community. When I think about the larger experience of living in Cape Verde for over two years, I am flooded with memories of Cape Verdean culture – the food, the music, the people, the language. Cape Verde became a second home to me by the end and I felt like those in my community were my family and friends.
7. What was the biggest challenge you faced during your experience?
Realizing that you’re human. Most Peace Corps Volunteers (and aspiring ones) are idealists, which is great. But, you are just one person and you can only affect so much. You learn during your two years to be okay with that and to appreciate the small contributions you make.
8. Any particular moment, or story, that particularly stands out to you?
I happened to be visiting another town one day and a stranger came up to me asking if I had been involved with Camp Crioula (the leadership camp). She said that her daughter had attended the camp and loved it. She wouldn’t stop talking about it and still kept in touch with friends she had made. It was a brief conversation before she was on her way but she left me standing there thinking that even if I didn’t leave Peace Corps having changed the world, I had positively impacted the life of this woman and her daughter.
9. Can you briefly describe your current field of work? How did your Peace Corps experience shape your career path?
I work in international development now, at a firm called DAI. DAI has projects in over 60 countries working in agriculture, environment, health and governance. When I left Peace Corps, I knew that I wanted to continue in the same line of work and found that opportunity with DAI. I currently work in market research where I help our company identify new projects, clients, and countries to do development work.
10. What are the values of exploring a different part of the world? What are the benefits of joining an international initiative out of college?
It always depends on the individual but I feel very fortunate to have been a part of Peace Corps after Tufts. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with an IR major but knew I wanted to be abroad and working in something I cared about. Peace Corps gave me that opportunity to explore and provided an excellent stepping stone in my career path.
Traveling and learning about other countries, cultures, and peoples doesn’t have to be done with Peace Corps or because you want to get into international development. And it isn’t just valuable when you travel someplace new. Our world is increasingly interconnected and the experience of learning about someplace or somebody different than you has tangible advantages in your daily life - whether it’s during an exchange with a stranger or working with a colleague at your next job.
