Aspiration Statement

So Peace Corps has everyone write an Aspiration Statement before thier service begins. We had to hit 5 main points. I wrote this over one weekend, so dont judge me ok! Enjoy!


Aspiration Statement
Erica McMahon
Kazakhstan
August 2009

A) The professional attributes that you plan to use and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.
My TEFL certification class with Oxford Seminars and volunteering as an English Conversation Partner at the International Center in NY has allowed me to combine technical training with hands on experience. I have learned that in addition to struggling with verb tenses and adjectives, non-native speakers also struggle with understanding American culture in order to put their language skills into perspective. This has taught me that patience, active listening and endurance is needed to help non-native speakers and these tools I plan to use during my assignment in Kazakhstan.
In addition to my primary project, I hope to use my professional attributes to initiate secondary projects in order to help my community. Having witness the dramatic changes on Wall Street over the past five years I have developed multiple skills that I plan to use during my Peace Corps service. Being flexible, humble and creative has helped me continue to motivate women and minorities to pursue the financial services industry. I hope to use these same strategies to motivate change in my school and surrounding community.

B) Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.
Working with many non- profit organizations, student organizations and universities has helped me develop my relationship building skills. I’ve learned that in order to be an effective partner you need to be an active listener, learn how to compromise, and be open minded. When I enter my school/community there may be many ways that I would like to help. However, instead of jumping in right away, I plan to be an observer and active listener to better assess how I can make a difference. There will be cultural differences and misunderstandings, but I am hoping to use my conflict negotiation skills to deal with situations that may occur. I also hope to build many relationships at my school and in my community to help identify resources and build more partnerships.

C) Strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background
As a Christian African American women born in Brooklyn, NY moving to Kazakhstan will not doubt bring culture shock. Although I have traveled to many countries, I have never spent more than 2 months in one place. During my times abroad I was able to adapt and learn about different cultures by remaining observant, asking questions, and being as humble as possible. Also, as a person who often travels alone, I am familiar with people staring and questioning me. I consider myself to be a person who has strong faith and values and because of this I am willing to experience new things, while at the same time, not having to compromise my beliefs or push them onto others. I remain open-minded and humble to the fact that I have a lot to learn and I am eager for new growth. I hope to use these strategies in Kazakhstan, but I am also eagerly awaiting the advise that comes from Peace Corps training.


D) The skills and knowledge hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.
Peace Corps Training will be a vital aspect of my service. I am confident that the Peace Corps staff is ready to inform me of things I need to know to make my two years a rewarding experience. During training I hope to learn techniques to help me become a better teacher, master the Russian language, and learn about Kazakhstan’s traditions and culture. I also hope that training will cover strategies of how to impact our communities through secondary projects and how to partner with other volunteers if location provides.

E) How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.
I applied to the Peace Corps with broad career goals involving international relations and public policy. However, the more research I did and the more I learned about RPCV stories, I realized that the Peace Corps is truly a life changing experience, which goes way beyond a career goal. Participating in the Peace Corps will give me tremendous opportunities for growth. During my Peace Corps service I am certain that I will face many challenges. I am hoping that what I learn from them will help me achieve the following goals:
• Endurance and discipline
• Understanding of a different culture
• Mastery of a new language
• Ability to continue to face my fears
• Utilize my skills to directly impact another community
• Enhance my leadership and problem solving skills
• Give me a unique perspective on life

Coupling these goals with my interest in international affairs will hopefully give me a life changing experience and the start of a new career path.


I hope you thought it was good!
Be Blessed!
Erica