I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2004-06 as an English language instructor at the Dnipropetrovsk National University and at a language school. My experience was priceless and rich with so many good memories, all because a wonderful host family, enthusiastic counterpart and future friends who welcomed this clueless stranger with open arms and immense trust.
In 2022, I interviewed for the RPCV Oral History Archives Project and have since become an interviewer and the team’s second multimedia editor. With two invasions of Ukraine since I have returned to the US and the continued rise of disinformation and misinformation blurring reality from fiction, I can’t think of a better way to give back to Peace Corps and the countries who have hosted the program than helping preserve the unique stories and perspectives that have come as a result of the program so that its legacy can continue.