Professional and intercultural development in the Peace Corps Response program.
Reposted by the Peace Corps here.
I just completed my 4-month assignment in the Peace Corps Response Program in Port Vila, Vanuatu. I took a leave of absence from my job, packed up everything I own into a storage unit and headed out to a country I had never been to, all in the name of a new cross-cultural experience. The specific job title to my PCR position was working as a Web Design and Development Consultant for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a branch in the national government in Vanuatu. My first experience in the Peace Corps shaped my professional development, so I was stoked to have a similar, more direct experience of professional growth during my time in the Response Program.
Why did I take a PCR position in the first place?
My timeline is pretty interesting and I think helps give a better understanding of why I left a good paying job to go volunteer again. After I graduated from undergrad I went straight to the Peace Corps for the first time, where I lived and worked in Albania for two and a half years. I applied to grad school while in Albania and started back to school three weeks after being back in the States. I interviewed for the job I currently have at a content marketing agency in Raleigh before I even graduated, picking up freelance work, then starting full time one week after I earned my Master’s degree.
Last summer I visited Albania again for a wedding and with another RPCV that I served with, who is now a life long friend. I was welcomed by open arms and that famous Albanian hospitality when I went back to my community. I saw the logo that I designed for my town on the side of cars, on flags up and down the main road and in the middle of a town news forum in front of my old office. I saw the teenage boys that I played basketball with still playing, using the balls and court that were provided by a grant that I helped write. Two years later, I could still visibly see my work and how it had impacted my community. If I wouldn’t have returned back to the town I lived in, I would have never been exposed to those remaining parts of my time living there. Development work typically doesn’t provide instant gratification but showing up two years later sure made it feel like it did.
What exactly did I do before I took the PCR position in Vanuatu?
Taking my second Peace Corps assignment seemed like the perfect opportunity and refresher from my hectic life working a 9–5 job, on top of coaching college basketball and teaching a college freshman art class.. You know, that casual 50+ hour work week that Americans love to act like is normal. The PCR position was the perfect opportunity for this, and even better, my current job let me take a leave of absence, allowing me to come back once my position was finished, understanding the value of an experience like this one, personally and professionally.
My full-time position as an interactive designer was full of working with some of the most tech savvy people have ever met, an open bar after 4:30 pm and free pizza on Fridays. I made visual and UX design decisions on multiple projects every day: designing apps, websites, social media graphics, interactive tools… you name it. Our clients consist typically of large, fortune 500 businesses, ranging from software companies to baby clothing lines.
For those without a tech background, I sort of make the blueprints of the website, then hand them over to the developer to build the website. I’m typically accompanied by a team with a project manager, project assistant, content writer, UX strategist, and web developer.
How was my job different in Vanuatu?
During my time at my position in Vanuatu, I took on all of these responsibilities and job titles and had the opportunity to utilize what I have learned while working with specialists in other parts of my industry.
I worked as the project manager or product owner, creating a scope of work and requirements documents after meeting with the stakeholders of the website, managing expectations, and deliverables. While I was coming in as the web specialist, I knew nothing about their organization and that was the first and most important thing to learn before starting on the site at all.
I worked as a UX strategist, working with the department in the Ministry through card sorting, developing a site map together, sketching out wireframes and talking through user flows on our website. I worked directly with the counterpart who was eager to learn about the “behind the scenes work” that went into the site.
I worked not only as the designer of the site but the developer as well. I taught myself a new content management system and dove head first in writing responsive CSS and HTML5 instead of just handing over my designs and CSS to the developers. With this part of the work, I pulled a lot of hours by myself, showing my coworker's periodic process and updates.
But most importantly, I worked as a teacher, making sure knowledge was transferred to my coworkers in Vanuatu during the web design process, as well as on how to update the CMS after I left. I trained multiple colleagues on how to manage the website’s content and make minor design updates when needed.
The most important part of development work is sustainability. I finished the development of the website with a month to spare but spent that last month transferring knowledge and training management. People who work in my industry live by the phrase “a website is never finished,” and with that in mind I worked tirelessly to make sure that my coworkers would be capable to continue maintenance to our website, even if I wasn’t in Vanuatu anymore.
My PCR position gave me the flexibility to teach myself new skills that benefited my PCR project and will make me more marketable in the future. I wore the hats of many job titles, and instead of being a specialist, I became a generalist, providing leadership to my department in the Ministry during the process of creating an online presence for them.
It’s extremely easy to become saturated with people who know just as much as you do, or typically, even more than you do. The tech industry is constantly evolving, and continued learning is essential. During my time in the Peace Corps Response program, I was able to figure out answers to my own questions because I had the luxury of being able to focus completely on one project during my time there.
In Vanuatu, I was presented as a web guru. This not only humbled me but made me realize that I shouldn’t take for granted how much I do know and how capable I am to lead a team of people, not only from a different cultural background from my own but a different technical background as well. My PCR position provided me the opportunity to lead a team of ni-Vanuatu, showcasing my adaptability in leadership style and adding to my international experience.
What else did I do during my time in the Peace Corps Response program?
During your two year stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer you have a primary assignment and then secondary projects that surface after you’ve spent some time in your community, things that you might have of planned for or expected. I wasn’t really expecting any of these secondary projects to surface since I was only in Vanuatu for four months but incredibly enough they did. Timing is everything. I just so happened to be in town during another Peace Corps volunteer’s project, that had been under development for over 2 years, was happening. The SMART Sistas ICT Camp for Girls was a week-long ICT camp where young girls from various islands in Vanuatu were brought to the capital and taught the fundamentals of informational technology. I was asked to teach an Intro to Web Design course during this camp.
Not only was I able to create a product for an audience other than what I’m used to (for locals in Vanuatu who will solely be accessing the site from their 3G mobile phones from remote islands), but aside from my primary assignment, I was able to transfer knowledge to almost 10 other islands in Vanuatu through the SMART Sistas ICT Camp for Girls.
Another secondary project that surfaced during the last few weeks of my time in Vanuatu was when I was asked by the communication department of the Vanuatu government to hold training for government employees. I held a professional development training for over 30 ni-Vanuatu locals, teaching the web design and development process and exposing them to the web development process.
My time in the Peace Corps Response program not only provided professional development opportunities in my field but in the international development field as well. I was able to gain experience working in another country, providing the skills that I have gained throughout my previous professional experience. The PCR program provided invaluable experience to add to my resume gave me the opportunity to teach myself new skills to add to my design belt and a great project to add to my portfolio.
In short, taking this time to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer again was again, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I would recommend the Peace Corps Response program to people who are self-starters, looking to gain intercultural experience and possibly teach themselves other skills.
