Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) in the St. Louis area and on campus at Wash. U. have worked to promote community development, sustainable agriculture and education abroad. The Peace Corps is frequently discussed in terms of the projects and services volunteers advocate abroad, but the volunteers often learn the most about themselves, the world and their place in the world through service. Graduate student Madeleine Smith served with the Peace Corps from 2010 to 2012 in Paraguay, working with farmers to promote sustainable agricultural practices and community development. She is now studying at the Brown School of Social Work and hopes to return to Latin America to work in a similar context in the future. “I became more flexible, more confident in who I was and more intentional about how I spent my time,” Smith said. Her service helped her to understand and appreciate the beauty of all people and to understand the world and the place of the United States in the world.

Living and working in a different country provides opportunities for personal growth and allows for relationships to develop between people who might not otherwise interact.

“Being patient, adjusting to a different pace of life and being able to work with different kinds of people were some of the most important things I learned,” Kendall Simmons, an RCPV of Paraguay 2009-2011, said. Simmons worked with a beekeeping program in Paraguay and now works as a Peace Corps recruiter here at Wash. U.

Peace Corps service can be just as challenging as it is rewarding, and these challenges often force volunteers to go outside their comfort zones, give up control, and be more patient when living and working in a different cultural context. Tracy Fuller, who now works in the St. Louis area, worked as a professor, shot-put and discus coach, and teacher-trainer at a university in the Philippines from 2010 until November 2012 and stayed in country until May 2013.

“Americans keep a schedule and do things when they’re supposed to be done. I ended up showing up an hour late and still being early. I had to give up a lot of control,” she said. “Now I’m a lot more relaxed about things.”

Smith described feeling isolated at times during her service, and sometimes she was misunderstood.

“Learning to live in the unknown, undefined areas are some of the hardest challenges,” she said.

In addition, transitioning back from service abroad can be one of the most difficult parts of the volunteers’ service, but having good support systems and staying in contact with Peace Corps volunteers helps to lessen the culture shock when returning to the States. For many volunteers, the way they see the world changes significantly during their service, and it can be frustrating to reenter a world and relate to people in the same way when life has continued in their absence. “You’ve changed your entire life to fit into one culture,” Fuller said, “and you come back and then you don’t fit in to your own anymore.”

Many volunteers live and work in areas of extreme poverty, and sharing their stories and experiences can be difficult to express to those who have not experienced it.

“I always think about needing to meet people where they’re at but also challenging them to think differently,” Smith said.