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.

Peace Corps gave me a way to embrace a new purpose after I retired in 2010.

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!

If I’d celebrated my 65th birthday like many Americans, I might have gone to a fancy restaurant with friends and family.

I have made it through my first holiday season in Moldova!

Before arriving in Moldova, I had a romanticized idea of what it meant to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I asked some of my fellow volunteers what they are thankful for.

I was born in Manila, Philippines, and my family immigrated to California when I was 11.