Oscar Bautista
Contributing Writer
On Feb. 18, the Peace Corps released its rankings of its top 25 small universities and colleges, and The College of Wooster ranked 23rd.
Eight alumnae have been serving overseas, including Jacqueline Weixel ’12, Eryn Greaney ’14 and Caroline Gormley ’14.
The Peace Corps aims to send knowledgeable volunteers to countries in need of sustainable change through health, education, agriculture, environment and youth development. The volunteers spread their knowledge gained at The College of Wooster through their cultural understanding and commit to life-long service.
“My main job function is as an English Literacy Facilitator,” Weixel said, who has been serving in Tonga since August 2015.
“I am working in a government primary school with the Tongan teachers here. I am helping them to use more student-centered practices in their teaching, especially in their English teaching, and they are helping me teach in a Tongan classroom. I am focusing some of my lessons in English for health and English for the environment, so I am teaching physical education and incorporating environmentally sound practices at the school. As a secondary project, I am working with my teachers and community on building an organic school garden and I hope to organize an after school study hall where students can help one another with their homework.”
Greaney is a health volunteer in Ghana creating a health curriculum for female workers of the fair trade organization Global Mamas since April 2015.
“My work revolves around women and children’s health,” said Greaney. “My recent projects include education on family planning and reproductive health, breast cancer, HIV education and testing, reusable pad distribution, pregnancy, exercise/stretching, women’s empowerment activities, cervical cancer education, malaria education and tuberculous education.”
Gormley is stationed in a small province in San Juan facilitating the improvement of health practices by teaching 24 women leaders to teach the adoption of healthy practices as well as the youth there to spread awareness to younger generations. The people who have graduated are giving talks in high schools and local clinics, and visit homes to promote community health.
When asked how the College prepared them, the alumnae answered with positive feedback.
“Wooster helped lead and prepare me for Peace Corps service in several ways,” Weixel said. “First of all, several of my teachers and my lacrosse coach had mentioned and encouraged me to join the Peace Corps, but at the time I didn’t feel ready or capable, but they helped plant the seed in my mind. In studying French, I learned good language learning techniques which helped in my learning Tongan as well as in my teaching English. Studying anthropology helped foster my interest in different cultures and gave me the tools for how to learn about and integrate into a new culture.”
“The professors and students at Wooster exposed me to a global perspective, with an emphasis on how connected the world is,” Greaney said. “By completing an independent study, I learned to critically think, question other perspectives and develop my own voice and thoughts. Furthermore, with my study abroad experience at Wooster, I was able to live in another country. This was my first exposure to living in another culture; it opened my eyes to ways and thoughts that were different from my own.”