Join the Peace Corps

Okay so yesterday I got a call from the PC wanting to ask me some general questions to see if I qualify without having a BA degree. Well aparently I do not qualify without one. Very dissapointing to say the least, but also it gives me more to work towards overall. I am going to continue to go to school and earn my BA degree. The down side really is that to be a Sign Language Interpreter you dont have to get a BA. I found a few programs that offer BA for that profession but they are very few. One is at the most prestigous school Gallaudet University in DC (I’m in FL) or the BA program that is in Tampa, FL at USF. I would prefer to get into Gallaudet but we’ll see. So the positive to all of this is that I now know the process of applying and feel next time it will go much smoother, I have more time to loose weight, volunteer more, get certified in CPR and also mature some more. I am still going to pursue this once I have a BA degree. Hey its only 2 more years right? sigh

I think this will help me feel more relaxed if someone knows the answer.

If you make it through the interview and recieve a nomination (aside from medical/dental clearance) does that mean you meet all the rest of the qualifications to serve?

I understand that you still have to be medically/dentally cleared, but for example, does that mean that I would have met all educational requirements, volunteer experience needs, etc?

I guess I just really need to understand the real meaning of being “nominated”

I submitted my application for Peace Corps Service. bangs head against wall I cannot believe it is finally submitted. All these thoughts are racing thru my mind…. When will my recruiter call? Is the recruiter going to call? What if I am not what they are looking for? Am I what they are looking for? bahhhhhhh and many many more! I know this is something that I can do. No hesitation at all about my ability to actually DO it. I am just so nervous that they won’t want me or overall they just will not accept me for whatever reason. Gosh how heartbreaking would that be…. all these months applying and asking people to fill out recommendations and writing essays only to have it thrown back in my face with a big fat NO! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! okay that helped…. (yes i did it out loud too). Well I guess now we play the waiting game…. sigh

Ok so I got in my last recommendation!!!!! Now to put the finishing touches on the essays and get the resume done. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will be able to say that I have SUBMITTED my application! How awesome would that be! hehe Yay!

Okay so I am feeling really good about this right now and while I am so positive and motivated I went ahead and finished both my essays and am just waiting some feedback from friends. I have one recommendation in and I sent a reminder to my close friend one and I am trying to get in touch with my old teacher to have her do the last recommendation! All I need to do now is contact the student loan people to see if they will defer the loans. YAY YAY YAY! I feel it is getting close to sumbitting it!!!! YAY!

Okay so this application process is starting to get stale and I need to get back on the ball… I have my first recommendation submitted and one more in progress, the essays are in progress one almost finished the other started. Still want to learn CPR and get in some volunteer experience (not sure how necessary those are but still good to have!).

So I need to start working again on motivating myself into getting those things accomplished. GOOOO MICHELLE!!! haha

I do feel good about getting the one recommendation in! So that is positive and what better time than right now to get back on track!

Okay so I am working on my essay for the Cross-Cultural experience. Any suggestions on what to make sure I cover? I already have what I am writing about and a rough draft. Any help here would be great! I want to make sure I cover what they are looking for! Thanks!

Okay so I am very excited that I have two very wonderful people writing 2 out of my 3 recommendations thus far! My good friend Andy who I have known now for 5 years and works for Raymond James and my current Supervisors Boss Carol who I have worked for now for 2 years she is the Operations Manager for our department and very wonderful! Both of them are writing my recommendations and I am so honored that they said they would! Now I am just waiting for a response from my 3rd option to see if she will write one for me too!

On another note I have told almost all my friends and family about me applying only a few are not really that keen on the idea but they will just have to accept it for what it is to me. On the other hand I do have a lot of people supporting me in this endeavor and I am so VERY VERY thankful for all of those people!

Now just to finish up those essays and a few small details on the application and get that last person to agree to write the recommendation and I am on my way. Thank God I have patience in this and understanding that it is a process and it takes time to get to the end result.

So this really amazing feeling has come over me when I realized what this could really mean for my life. I want this more than I have ever wanted anything and I have done nothing for the past month-ish but think about it and research it and read PCV blogs about their adventures and I just can’t get enough. Each person has such different experiences its like reading books about peoples lives and to think that I will one day be doing the same thing (writing about my adventure) is overwhelming and it brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I cannot wait to get my hands out there and help.

The application is still progressing all I need to do now is work on my essays and get the recommendations and a few other minor details and then I will be submitting it! YAY!

Ok so I started the application online this week and man its definitely a long one. Any tips or suggestions of things I want to make sure I fill out??? Anyone with ANY info that wants to talk to me about this would be great! Especially a RPCV :)