Applying to the Peace Corps
Timeline and Initiation

When I decided to apply for the Peace Corps, I heard from multiple people that the application took a while and was difficult. That made me nervous at first but once I started applying, it wasn’t as bad as everyone said. Once I knew that Peace Corps could be in my future, I spoke to friends who have done it and listened in on workshops, hosted by Peace Corps. I decided to start looking at job postings in September and started to write my personal essay. In the beginning of October, I saw a position that interested me, fit my skills and would leave in early September of 2018.

My Application Timeline:

• Applied to position: October 10, 2017
• Under Consideration for Peru: October 17, 2017
• Notified that I was under consideration for another position: November 2, 2017
• Interview: December 11, 2017
• Invitation to Serve: December 20, 2017
• Legally Cleared: March 20, 2018
• All Medical Tasks submitted: March 20, 2018
• Medically Cleared: April 4, 2018
• Departure Date: September 3, 2018​

Luckily, my application process seemed easier and quicker than what I have heard from other applicants. In early November, Peace Corps emailed me offering a position to teach in Sierra Leone and have my application process expedited. Since I only had 3 days to answer them and I was more interested in serving in Peru, I told them I wasn’t interested and would rather wait to hear from the position I applied to. Now, I am just waiting to be medically cleared. The medical process was the most difficult. In order to be a volunteer, Peace Corps must know about all of your medical and dental history. Because of the nature of the countries where Peace Corps serves, the conditions under which Volunteers live and work, and the scope of medical care available in those countries, Peace Corps might not be able to support some medical conditions. This process resulted in me going to the doctors about 6 times within 2 weeks to have my exams, blood tests, and vaccinations.

When I first got notified of the interview request, I was nervous. The interview lasts for about 2 hours and covers a wide range of questions. Most of the questions aim to figure out if you are capable of dealing with difficulties or challenges and if you are able to adapt to a new culture. It ended up being better than I thought. I received a lot of insight from my interviewer and their experience serving in the Peace Corps.  

Now that I am medically cleared,  I will start preparing to leave and will serve as a Youth in Development Volunteer. Youth Development Volunteers work directly with youth to help build life skills, enhance their engagement in the community and develop healthy life choices. These life skills could include developing a positive identity, financial literacy, vocational skills, critical thinking and healthy lifestyle activities. Peru currently has a 6 year Youth Development plan that surrounds these goals:

1. Building Skills for the World of Work Youth will build skills for the world of work with increased support from service providers and/or other community members.
2. Enhancing youth engagement Youth, parents, service providers and/or other community members recognize youth as a resource and engage them to contribute positively in their community.

By Claire Gracia, Class of 2018