This story is as much about Virginia (Kollin) Shovlin (Nigeria 1962-1964) as it is about her son, Paul (Moldova 1996-1998) and daughter, Suzanne (Ukraine 2007-2009).
On June 24, Peace Corps held a ceremony to honor the 2021 recipient of the Peace Corps’ Lillian Carter Award and countless distinguished Peace Corps Volunteers.
Growing up in Colorado, I often found myself outside on crisp clear winter nights, watching the stars drift by and remembering a time when explorers used the patterns written in the stars to navigate home after a long journey.
In July 2020, I had the honor to deliver a training within the virtual Youth Empowerment Summer (YES) Program organized for over 50 amazing children from all over the country by Peace Corps Moldova and USAID Moldova.
This is a part of a series of Q&As with returned Peace Corps Volunteers who identify as first-generation college students and/or new Americans. Learn how they navigated the challenges of the decision-making process and service abroad!
What if we taught children with disabilities in Moldova how to be young entrepreneurs? We could teach them skills that would allow them to be financially independent or, at the very least, ease the burden of home-care on their families. But how?
When I accepted my invitation to serve and began preparing to come to Moldova, one of my biggest questions was of course: what am I going to be eating every day?
