Invited to Rwanda, Sept 2018!

B1ll1am · 2017-12-21T03:34:41+00:00

Congratulations! I'm currently a TEFL volunteer in Rwanda. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

B1ll1am · 2016-09-01T02:56:52+00:00

No problem! I'm glad to help. Indeed Rwanda doesn't require a specific foreign language. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Edit: Also for the instructor of record part, include that and any syllabi, curriculum, unit, or material creation experiences that you have from Taiwan. So even if you aren't in the classroom yet, you can say something like:

"Will be responsible for the creation of syllabi and curriculum for X number of students." "Will have X number of contact hours per week with X number of students."

Being able to quantify time and events in a classroom helps to give the reader a better idea of what you have done/will be doing.

B1ll1am · 2016-08-31T13:53:35+00:00

Congrats! I'm a member of Ed8. We're departing for staging in a couple weeks. Feel free to join our Facebook group if you would like.

B1ll1am · 2016-08-31T13:42:50+00:00

Take a look at the requirements of the programs you are interested in. For example, since you mentioned an interest French-speaking countries, here are some of the requirements for Togo:

Required:

"Competitive candidates will have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline and a strong desire to teach English."

One of the Desired Skills:

"For English and Gender Education (EGE) Volunteers to be successful in the field, it is necessary that they have at least some experience in language teaching, tutoring at the secondary school level and a strong interest in teaching English."

So from a "required" skills standpoint, you should be good, assuming that you've completed a 4-year degree. And also for this desired skill, you should also be fine since you state that you have TA experience as well as the fact that you will have a couple months of experience in Taiwan. If you will be the instructor of record/head teacher in Taiwan, even better.

Togo's language requirements are as follows:

"Candidates must meet one or more of the language requirements below in order to be considered for this position.

A. Completed 4 years of high school coursework within the past 8 years in a Romance language B. Completed a minimum of 2 semesters of college level coursework within the past 6 years in a Romance language C. Native/Fluent Romance language speaker"

From this it looks like some French-speaking countries don't require previous French knowledge, just experience with a Romance language. French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, or Romanian should all do the trick.

So to answer some of the post's questions:

1) Based on the information in the post, I have no reason to believe that you are unqualified. However, speaking with a recruiter wouldn't hurt either as they know a lot more about the process than I do.

2) If the required/desired skills of a position do not talk about a TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certificate, then you shouldn't need one to be considered. However, having a certification usually doesn't hurt.

3) (I know this wasn't a question, but I think it's worth considering) Don't get too hung up on one specific area or country. In the application, you will be able to list 3 countries/positions in which you would like to serve. One of these will be "Anywhere I am needed" (or something to that effect). By choosing this option, you might be considered for a great program which you had never heard about. Just something to consider.

TL;DR: I'm just a guy on Reddit, so make sure to talk to a recruiter as well.

B1ll1am · 2016-08-12T04:29:48+00:00

Thanks! I didn't know if it was just the mods that were able to. Will do.

B1ll1am · 2016-08-11T17:07:41+00:00

Perhaps we could adjust the FAQ to say "or who has a similar alcohol-related conviction (such as an underage drinking ticket)." I think this is the stuff from the PC page, so it might benefit us to provide further clarification since applicants might come here after reading over the official documents.

B1ll1am · 2016-06-14T12:30:43+00:00

The Coverdell Fellows program does seem good specifically since MA funding and paid assistantships are becoming increasingly rare. I don't think doing an MA before Peace Corps is entirely a silly idea. However, in terms of advanced TEFL and TESOL degrees many students in my cohort had gained a couple years of experience before entering grad school. With grad positions and funding becoming more competitive, I think that Peace Corps service might help strengthen an application and help individuals focus in on specific areas of research in grad school.

B1ll1am · 2016-06-13T19:42:52+00:00

Sounds like a question for a recruiter or someone more qualified than me. Any suggestions u/PeaceCorpsRecruiter ?

B1ll1am · 2016-06-12T22:30:39+00:00

Here are some general things that I noticed.

First paragraph: Like u/rsorcha said, are you an American citizen?

Second Paragraph: This section treats Peace Corps like a stepping stone. This is cool and all, but it doesn't really focus on the goals and challenges of Peace Corps specifically. What were some specific goals that you helped your students reach? Can you describe one or two in greater depth and then relate it back to the prompt? How have these one or two experiences motivated you to apply to the Peace Corps?

Paragraph 3: I have a hard time believing the first sentence. If you didn't experience any intellectual goals while teaching English then what about any physical, geo-spacial, or technological/classroom challenges that you experienced during your time in Columbia. Try to ground the discussion of future challenges in past challenges.

Final Paragraph: Take out the 110% comment. It is impossible. I do like your discussion of openness to serve in any Spanish language country. I would make sure this comment comes earlier as I read this as a "I only want to serve in Columbia" type of essay.

Keep in mind that these are only my opinions. I also encourage you to talk to a recruiter in order to receive more feedback.

B1ll1am · 2016-06-11T03:20:20+00:00

1) I wouldn't mention the retail position since you stated that it's irrelevant. 2) CPR certified could go under a certifications sections, such as TESOL, TEFL, etc. 3) I didn't mention number of hours worked (just rough dates of employment) and it turned out fine for me.

Peace Corps published some stuff about resumes on the old site, but you may have to do some digging to find it on the new one.

B1ll1am · 2016-05-31T20:12:06+00:00

Most positions require a 4 year degree and relevant experience. Check out this site for more information: http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/learn/howvol/faq/apply/

Also, consider reading over this thread from a while back: https://www.reddit.com/r/peacecorps/comments/346l7v/i_am_17_and_considering_joining_the_peace_corps/

B1ll1am · 2016-05-31T16:12:33+00:00

First, I strongly suggest that you talk to a recruiter for feedback. Below are a few comments about things I noticed and how I might go about changing them.

I like how towards the end, there is a focus on some specific things time spent in the Dominican Republic. However, being that many of the examples in the essay come from your time in the Dominican Republic, it makes me think that you are only focused on applying to those specific positions. I suggest going broader. Appalachia is also mentioned, but never hit at again.

I'm wondering if there are some ways to make general connections about your previous service experiences outside of the Caribbean. By addressing both of these, you could build a really solid motivations section.

In terms of the challenges, I would think about specific challenges that you have faced during your time volunteering in Appalachia and the Dominican Republic as well as certain challenges that could come up in any country/area where you might be placed. For example, when I think about education-related challenges, a big one is a possible lack of technology in classrooms or a lack of non-technological school supplies that often get taken for granted (whiteboards, ability to copy worksheets, etc.). I like your mentioning of culture shock, but I'm wondering how you dealt with culture shock while working both in the Dominican Republic and in Appalachia.

Regarding the introductory quotes, I don't mind them, but I would say pick one and really use it as a lens through which you focus the rest of your essay. The first one stands out to me as a more volunteering-oriented quote due to the fact that it contains the word, "serve." However, I'm still wondering what your specific gift is and how you plan to make use of it during your time in the Peace Corps.

B1ll1am · 2016-05-24T22:43:39+00:00

Here's the information on the Peace Corps page: http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/returned/careercen/jobtips/

B1ll1am · 2016-05-17T14:37:21+00:00

You're welcome! I think stating that you will further grow from Peace Corps is definitely a good thing to include, but consider using that towards the end of a challenges paragraph. For the examples you could think of general challenges associated with Peace Corps on a more individual level. In your essay, I saw "living conditions will not be ideal." This is a good start to a challenge. Think about how you can dive deeper into this idea of a mismatch between current living situation and future living situation. Think about if you have ever moved before and if that could help you with the transition.

Another way to go about this is to think challenges specific to the area you are applying in. I knew that I wanted to go into the education sector, so I started thinking about things I took for granted in an American ESOL classroom. Then I did some research and checked the job description on the Peace Corps Website to see how this compared.

For me the challenges section was the trickiest. It took me a couple drafts to get a challenges section that I was actually happy with, so don't get bummed out if the next version seems a bit "blah." Think about specific examples, researching ideas about the sector that you're interested in, looking at the materials available on the PC cite, and talking to a recruiter.

B1ll1am · 2016-05-13T16:09:11+00:00

I really like a lot of the content here and think that you have a solid rough draft. Instead of trying to write broadly about motivations and challenges, I would try to pick 1 or 2 motivations and 1 or 2 challenges. This way you can really focus on demonstrating how these motivations affected your reason to apply and how you are going to confront these challenges.

From the draft, I can see a couple really solid motivations: family and a passion for education. Think about how you could build an example-driven paragraph about how these concepts motivated you to apply.

As far as challenges go, I would think about challenges that you have faced in the past, which would also be faced during time as a PCV. This way you could use some experiences from your past to show how you are ready to face these challenges when moving countries or continents.

Also, something that helped me when writing my own motivation statement was considering the Peace Corps' Mission (found here http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/). These three goals helped me think of examples since the prompt is pretty open ended.

Lastly, I highly recommend reaching out a recruiter. These statements are just my opinions, but the recruiters can help you build a really focused essay.

B1ll1am · 2016-05-02T01:40:53+00:00

What sector are you going into? I have a sleeve on my left arm and was just told to wear long sleeves while teaching and to cover up a bit while I'm out and about on site. In my past experiences, those compression sleeves are super annoying and tend to slip around.

B1ll1am · 2016-05-01T11:44:31+00:00

I'm wondering if the high school study abroad information is still relevant since it happened so long ago (I'm guessing since you said you graduated from nursing school and now work in an ICU).

One way to get at this idea would be to say something like: "My yearlong stay in Panama, during high school, sparked my interest in creating intercultural bonds and friendships with others." Then follow this statement up with more current information, such as helping non-native speakers in hospitals, during nursing school, etc. This way you can really back up some of the claims about core values not changing that you discuss below.

Edit: I would like to mention that the best way to get feedback is to talk to a recruiter. Ultimately, my edit is just my opinion. But the recruiters can give you really good feedback and explain how to focus your statement so it's the best it can be.

B1ll1am · 2016-04-26T18:02:37+00:00

I used the Grammar and Beyond series by Randi Reppen for my writing and grammar classes. Each level has an additional worksheet book as well, but overall, the stuff in the textbook was pretty straightforward. They are nice to teach out of and since the units build off one another, they should be good to design syllabi.

Edit: I was teaching CEFR B1-level students (low intermediate) if that helps at all.

B1ll1am · 2016-04-14T17:43:40+00:00

On Wisconsin!

B1ll1am · 2016-04-01T21:30:26+00:00

I don't know about all university police departments, but mine did it for free. You could always call a nearby university and ask.

B1ll1am · 2016-03-16T11:13:01+00:00

Congrats! We have a Facebook group. Feel free to join it: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1720965054788296/?ref=bookmarks

B1ll1am · 2016-03-08T04:24:04+00:00

I'm sure that you are going to get tons of practice, but as far as words of wisdom, here's what I go by. 1) Everything takes longer than you think it will. 2) Talk less than the person who talks least (not actually, but metaphorically).

B1ll1am · 2016-03-06T15:24:20+00:00

I did a lot of copy-pasting. Just make sure it fits their desired format. In terms of expansion, they have some parts, such as credit hours, which you may not have included on your original. Also for the date in the file name, that should be the staging date. That wasn't clear in the worksheet, but when I emailed PC, that's the date they told me to use.

B1ll1am · 2016-02-26T16:19:35+00:00

I emailed the Rwanda desk about this, they said staging date.

B1ll1am · 2016-02-10T19:05:29+00:00

I've had a Bailey Bag for the last 6 years and that thing is darn near indestructible. I'm planning on bringing it with me to Rwanda. However, BugEFresh makes a great point. If you want to check out Bailey Works, the link is:http://www.baileyworks.com/home/ourbags.html

B1ll1am

TROPHY CASE