{"id":62666,"date":"2012-01-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/childhood-dream-leads-to-peace-corps-experience-for-uri-alumnus\/"},"modified":"2012-01-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-31T00:00:00","slug":"childhood-dream-leads-to-peace-corps-experience-for-uri-alumnus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2012\/01\/childhood-dream-leads-to-peace-corps-experience-for-uri-alumnus\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood dream leads to Peace Corps experience for 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\tKINGSTON, R.I.- January 31, 2012 – Adam Blankenbicker, a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate, not only spent two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in Guatemala, but also met his wife, Allyson Snell, during his experience.<\/p>\n


\nEver since he can remember, Blankenbicker had wanted to join the Peace Corps. He recalls asking his parents about the organization at a young age after hearing the name mentioned.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThey very simply told me it was when volunteers went to live in foreign countries to help out. This sounded really cool to me then, and I have wanted to do this ever since,\u201d said Blankenbicker, one of 380 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps.<\/p>\n


\n\tWhile attending the 溏心vlog免费B站, he studied abroad in Australia for a semester at the University of Queensland, which furthered his desire to encounter new cultures and volunteer for the Peace Corps. Blankenbicker\u2019s interest also increased throughout the completion of his geology major.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cDuring my time at 溏心vlog免费B站, I realized that there is so much out there in the world, and part of this realization came from my geology professors. They had traveled to a variety of places for research and came back with great stories, not just about the research, but also personal stories about the people and communities with whom they worked,\u201d recalled Blankenbicker. <\/p>\n


\n\tBlankenbicker graduated in 2004 with a degree in geology and geological oceanography and a minor in math. He received his master\u2019s degree in geology from Michigan Technological University through a program called Masters International, which allows volunteers to finish their graduate thesis while serving in the Peace Corps. Before going to Guatemala, Blankenbicker took one year of coursework through this graduate program, which included a class on living and working in a developing country.<\/p>\n


\n\tWhile overseas, Blankenbicker served as an environmental educator in the school system, initially teaching students about the environment and eventually about science as a whole. He worked with students in grades pre-kindergarten through 6, their ages ranging from 4 to 14. Blankenbicker also helped the teachers, leading workshops about environmental education, self-esteem and teamwork. All of the teaching was conducted in Spanish, which made the experience both rewarding as well as challenging.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI had to learn other ways to communicate, such as images and just being very active with my body and hands. I also helped come up with fun and creative projects for the students, like making kaleidoscopes and hot air balloons out of tissue paper. Sometimes I would lose their focus, but their teachers were there to get them focused again,\u201d recalled Blankenbicker.<\/p>\n


\n\tAccording to Blankenbicker, another challenge was getting the students to and from school with the limited transportation system, which usually consisted of an occasional truck or tractor.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cAs you explore different cultures and areas of the world, you can really begin to explore yourself as well,\u201d said Blankenbicker.<\/p>\n


\nHe also worked in a Guatemalan volcano observatory, where he and other local observers monitored the activity of the volcano Santiaguito by assessing possible geological hazards. Blankenbicker traveled to the observatory each day with a number of other Guatemalan workers and therefore got to know them very well. After spending over two years in Guatemala, Blankenbicker was reluctant to return home.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI was very sad because I didn\u2019t know when, or if, I would ever see my friends again. It hit me as I was getting seated on the plane\u2026it was very hard,\u201d recalled Blankenbicker.<\/p>\n


\nBlankenbicker is now an educator at the Museum of Science in Boston where he explains science and technology through a variety of live presentations. His wife, Allyson, is now a regional recruiter for the Peace Corps.<\/p>\n


\nSnell had always been interested in service, but was initially intimidated by the two year Peace Corps commitment. When she graduated from Beloit College in Wisconsin, she decided to join AmeriCorps VISTA instead, which is a volunteer program within America. Snell met a number of returning Peace Corps volunteers while serving for a year in New Mexico. After speaking to them about their experiences, Snell decided to join the Peace Corps, and served with her future husband from 2006-2008. She was able to receive her graduate degree from the University of Southern New Hampshire through the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, which, like Masters International, combines Peace Corps experience with a graduate degree. Once Snell had begun this life-changing journey, she knew she had made the right choice.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThe best part about volunteering with the Peace Corps was the individual relationships I made with the families. The cross-cultural experience and deep connections made the world feel like a small place,\u201d recalled Snell. <\/p>\n


\n\tEach Peace Corps member serves for 27 months. The first three months are for training that is specific to the culture of each country and includes a safety and security session. According to Snell, the robust training is the reason this organization is able to send its volunteers into a variety of environments.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe Peace Corps was one of the first acts signed into law by former President John F. Kennedy in March 1961. Now, there are more 200,000 volunteers, all of whom are U.S. citizens. In 2011, the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 students in particular should apply for Peace Corps service because we are always seeking skilled and competitive applicants to dedicate 27 months of their life in service to others overseas,\u201d said Snell. <\/p>\n


\nAs of September 30, 2011, there were 14 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni volunteers in six different sectors in 10 different countries. These sectors include agriculture, education, environment and health, in countries like Cambodia, Cameroon, Panama, Peru, Uganda and Zambia. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 students are very community-oriented and tight knit, even though it\u2019s a big school. They seem very aware and thoughtful of citizens. It is clear that the spirit of service is alive and well on campus,\u201d said Snell.<\/p>\n


\nThe majority of the Peace Corps programs require volunteers to have a four-year degree and a minimum of 3 to 6 months of experience. Applicants without a college degree are required to have at least 3 to 5 years of experience in a field involving agriculture, forestry, or business development. For those interested in joining, Snell can be reached by phone at (617) 565-6216 or by email at asnell@peacecorps.gov.<\/p>\n


\nVictoria Antonelli, an intern in the Communications and Marketing Department at 溏心vlog免费B站, wrote this article.<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nAdam and Allyson take a break from their Peace Corps volunteer work in Guatemala. Photo courtesy of Allyson Snell<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I.- January 31, 2012 – Adam Blankenbicker, a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate, not only spent two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in Guatemala, but also met his wife, Allyson Snell, during his experience. Ever since he can remember, Blankenbicker had wanted to join the Peace Corps. He recalls asking his parents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}