On January 28th,
I was asked by my mentor, Kalimah Knight from Simmons’ Marketing Communications
Department to write about my experience at Simmons and how it shaped my
decision to join Peace Corps. I will be featured in the upcoming Simmons Alumna
Magazine Spring 2014 issue which focuses on "Simmons Making a Difference
in the World."
I am waiting to
hear back if I will have a hard copy and an online copy I can share on my blog.
I am so excited about this opportunity because it will open more doors to gain
valuable experience towards my career path. Below, I am providing the questions
that I was asked for the magazine. Some of the answers I provided will be
shortened for page limit concerns. I submitted my answers on February 16th
2014.
1. Please
share with me some of your favorite moments with the Peace Corps and how it
relates to your learning at Simmons.
The courses I took in the Public
Health/Sociology department, and my
professors imparted in me the desire to learn
and nurture my knowledge
outside the classroom. Simmons gave me a voice
to create positive
changes through community service. As a
result, my learning at Simmons
gave me the leadership skills I needed to
succeed in different
settings.
Over the years, the Simmons’ programs have
increasingly encouraged
students to pursue international studies and
community service abroad.
Some of my favorite moments in the Peace Corps
include the
cross-cultural exchanges my community and I
have shared, our health
projects, and learning more of the
Senegalese’s customs and
traditions. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I have
lived in a rural
community with no running water or electricity
for two years. I have
also learned to navigate in Mandinka, one of
the minority languages of
Senegal. Those are some examples in which
Simmons has prepared me to
handle any challenges that come in my path.
2. How
did Simmons influence your decision to join the Peace Corps?
I applied to the Peace Corps during my junior
year at Simmons. The
classes I took, International Health and
Health Policy, taught me
about the efforts of non-governmental
organizations and key
stakeholders to solve public health crises
from a top-down approach.
Peace Corps was an appealing organization to
me because it addressed
these problems using grassroots methods in
rural and urban
communities. It was also a tangible experience
where I was in the
frontlines of these public health challenges.
I worked alongside
communities and empowered them to find the
solutions to their
problems. Therefore, I thought Peace Corps was
a suitable choice in
tracing my career path in Public Health and
International Development.
One of many accomplishments during my two
years of service included
the construction of a new and fully equipped
hospital. The facility
will serve more than 2000 habitants in several
communities in my
region. Because I included the community in an
NGO’s project, it will
continue to benefit from the partnership for
years to come.
Solar panels and a maternity ward will be
placed in the community in
the near future. They are also endorsed for
two years of medication to
supplement the medicine stock of the hospital.
This project was
initiated to bridge the socioeconomic gap
between those who had access
to healthcare services and those who did not.
Simmons has truly
prepared me to overcome challenges using
minimal resources. It also
has given me the strength to stand for
important issues and make an
impact on a larger scale.
3. A quote about your experience
“In life, each
person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to
plant. The builders might take years over
their tasks, but one day,
they finish what they are doing. Then they
find they are hemmed in by
their own walls. Life loses its meaning when
the building stops.
Then there are those who plant. They endure
storms and all the many
vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely
rest. But, unlike a
building, a garden never stops growing. And
while it requires the
gardener’s constant attention, it also allows
life for the gardener to
be a great adventure.”
-Paulo Coehlo
4. What
was your biggest take-a-way?
The biggest take-away is that in whatever
stage in life an individual
may be, their contributions, small or large,
are important for the
advancement of society.
5.
How did your experience with Simmons and the Peace Corps impact what you are
doing today?
My legacy is to empower people to see the
greatness in themselves.
Peace Corps and Simmons have traced my career
path in Public Health.
At Simmons, I learned the importance of giving
back to communities
through, mentoring, community service,
advocacy and leadership. Most
importantly, Simmons encouraged me to have
higher aspirations as a
woman.
The Peace Corps program has given me the
necessary tools to empower
people to lead healthy and productive lives.
Most importantly, it has
taught me to think objectively on creating
change without jeopardizing
the integrity of a community. Overall, my experiences
at Simmons and
Peace Corps have truly prepared me to be in
the Public Health field
where I am helping communities on a larger
scale.
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