My Aspiration Statement and Resume

One of the first steps upon accepting a position with the Peace Corps is writing your Aspiration Statement and reformat your resume. These two documents will then be sent directly to your country of service (Senegal in my circumstance). This is the first real information that the country will receive about you and so its important that you include all relevant experiences while sounding intelligent. The following are my answers to the questions for my Aspiration Statement to introduce myself and my experiences. (The interesting part about posting these answers is to see how my expectations and realizations of the experience compare to my pre-service expectations.)

The professional attributes that I plan to use, and what aspirations I hope to fulfill, during my Peace Corps service.

Being a recent graduate and working as a Marketing Assistant with a local business here in Minneapolis I believe that I have the tools necessary to be a successful Small Business Counselor. While in college I had four years of in depth schooling on all aspects of computer training, as well as marketing and management instruction.  I also believe that my outside perspective while troubleshooting will allow the organization, as well as their policies and procedures, to benefit and improve.  When I think of aspirations I hope to fulfill during my service I try to keep my thoughts realistic but challenging. While I understand it may take time to implement change, I just hope to be an overall positive influence on the organizations and their people. I want to be able to use my knowledge with IT to improve operations and marketing of each small business that I may work with. I want to not only implement change for the better while I am there but I also hope to teach the skills necessary  to continue once I am done with my service.

My strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

While speaking with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and reading blogs of those that are currently serving, I feel that I have had a chance to learn some of the key lessons that will benefit me while working in Senegal. One of the strategies that I will be able to use while working with other people is patience; this is something that can never be overused. I will be patient while I am getting to know my new friends, co-workers, and family in order to build their trust and support. Once this is accomplished I will be able to help the small businesses more successfully. Not only will I be able to help the businesses but I hope to learn from them as well. There are cultural aspects that I will be able to be taught, and want to learn, that will only help me in educating the local business people more successfully.

My strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to my own cultural background.

I grew up in a military family that traveled and moved around the country quite often. I had always been around new and different cultures of my own while growing up; I was able to successfully build relationships at school and during extracurricular activities. I also had experiences with other cultures while in college. I studied in France, on two different occasions, for a period of seven months total.  While studying International Business in France I also toured around Europe on vacations and breaks to other nearby countries. Once I returned to school I worked at the Study Abroad Office as a representative for the College of Business. My job was to promote the program that I once went on to encourage other students to have the same experience as I had. All of these experiences combined have prepared me for adapting to and accepting cultures different from my own. Learning something different concerning cross cultural training during each of the above opportunities will allow me to be successful and understanding during my service.

The skills and knowledge I hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve my future community and project.

The knowledge that I hope to gain during pre-service training would be the specifics of the need of the community. This will help me better prepare myself and understand the best way possible to serve my country; I want to be able to apply as much of my knowledge and past experiences with business as possible. Also I would like to learn the culture and traditions of the people in Senegal. I understand this will come with time spent in the country but understanding cultural norms and customs would assist me in building stronger relationships and understanding the need within my community. I would not want to offend someone by our own cultural differences.

How I think Peace Corps service will influence my personal and professional aspirations after my service ends.  

While finishing up service in Senegal I hope to remain abroad while working with international non-profits. I am not sure which region I would like to work in, or in which field, but serving the international community is a passion of mine that I hope to continue.  I am sure that the Peace Corps, and my work in Senegal specifically, will give me the knowledge and skills needed to continue my work. I am willing to relocate wherever needed.