I was working at an office in New York City.
My boss at the time said, "You've done a lot of service work. Why haven't you done Peace Corps?"
I went because I liked to travel and I wanted to experience Africa
But it turned into something much more than that.
I worked with an NGO called Theatre for a Change
And they basically taught HIV/AIDS education through drama
Two people are together and someone may be unfaithful
The partner would become infected with HIV
Then the audience is invited to come up and intervene
What should the person who became infected have done differently?
I was looking for an opportunity to spend some time in the Balkans to get to know the region better
Bulgaria was an extremely unique experience
I was in a very middle-of-the-road town
And basically I was a municipal employee for a couple of years
I was working as a construction manager in the Washington, D.C. area
Being in this area I was exposed to a lot of returned Peace Corps Volunteers
And I learned of their experience and thought it was a fabulous opportunity
So I went to Tunisia as a self-help housing and community development volunteer
And assisted people in this small Tunisian town build their own homes
The community aspect of Sanford struck me as far superior to my other options
In the short period of time I was looking at programs
I didn't manage the same close connection with faculty
I didn't have the same sense that this is a place where I can speak directly with somebody
when I have questions and figure out an answer
The people going into the program had experience
Managing significant programs and ministries around the world
I was attracted to the fact that it was for mid-career professionals
So most of my classmates were from outside the U.S.
Peace Corps and Duke gave me the ability to talk and relate to people
coming from different cultures
to see challenges in multiple dimensions and using various lenses
Peace Corps really teaches you to learn on the fly in the field
and just go with it
It gives you a very significant perspective of what's actually happening in the field
I went back to Ghana almost a year ago
It was like going home again.
