The Dominican Republic was a world away in both distance and culture for Williams. Before his Peace Corps service, he had never been on an airplane or traveled more than a state or two from his native Chicago. So, going off to spend two-plus years in the Caribbean to work in a teacher training program soon after college was not something he took lightly, and neither did members of his family. "It was not something everybody in my family thought was a good idea," Williams said in an interview during his visit to the UNC campus. And because Williams was the first in his family to graduate college, expectations were high. He was expected to do the responsible thing: Settle down and get a job teaching -- a career for which he had been trained at Chicago State University. "My mother was the one who said this is a great idea, it's going to expand your horizon and give you an opportunity to see a different part of the world, and she was right," Williams said. While teaching in a training program for rural teachers in the small town of Monte Palta, Williams became fluent in Spanish. That prepared him for an assignment (his service was extended a year) working as a professor of teaching methods at the Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santiago.
Aaron Williams Found His Calling in the Peace Corps
FINDING HIS CALLING IN THE DOMINICAN
By Gregory Childress
gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645
CHAPEL HILL -- Aaron Williams' eyes sparkle with pride when he talks about his Peace Corps experience.
The recently appointed director of the Peace Corps, only the fourth alum to lead the organization, served in the Dominican Republic from 1967-70.
Williams met his wife while serving there, and maybe that explains the twinkle in his eyes when he reminisces about the experience.
"I certainly did," Williams said chuckling at a reminder that he found his wife while serving in the Peace Corps.
Williams was at UNC on Wednesday to speak to students at UNC -- which moved from seventh to sixth place on the Peace Corps' list of large schools for producing the most volunteers -- about service and to strengthen relations with university faculty and departments.
He also visited N.C. Central University on Thursday as part of his efforts to increase diversity in the Peace Corps by reaching out to historically black colleges and universities.
The Dominican Republic was a world away in both distance and culture for Williams. Before his Peace Corps service, he had never been on an airplane or traveled more than a state or two from his native Chicago.
So, going off to spend two-plus years in the Caribbean to work in a teacher training program soon after college was not something he took lightly, and neither did members of his family.
"It was not something everybody in my family thought was a good idea," Williams said in an interview during his visit to the UNC campus.
And because Williams was the first in his family to graduate college, expectations were high. He was expected to do the responsible thing: Settle down and get a job teaching -- a career for which he had been trained at Chicago State University.
"My mother was the one who said this is a great idea, it's going to expand your horizon and give you an opportunity to see a different part of the world, and she was right," Williams said.
While teaching in a training program for rural teachers in the small town of Monte Palta, Williams became fluent in Spanish. That prepared him for an assignment (his service was extended a year) working as a professor of teaching methods at the Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santiago.
The former vice president for International Business Development for RTI International (he worked out of Washington, but made frequent visits to RTP), Williams said he looks forward to forging stronger bonds with UNC.
"We're talking to the heads of different departments in areas that we're very much interested in growing in education, environment sciences, in public health," Williams said. "There are tremendous departments at this university in those areas. We're going to look for their graduates to serve in the Peace Corps and we're going to look to their faculty to help us train Peace Corps volunteers."
The trip to UNC was Williams' first college visit since being appointed to the post by President Barack Obama in August. In addition to building stronger relationships with the university, the visit was also intended to pay tribute to UNC alums' tradition of volunteering for the Peace Corps.
The university currently has 78 alums serving as volunteers across the globe, and has produced nearly 1,100 since the Corps was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to promote world peace and friendship.
UNC Peace Corps alums include Whitney Isenhower, a 2006 graduate who spent two years educating the women of Cameroon, Africa, about HIV/AIDS.
Isenhower said UNC has "service culture" that leads students to organizations such as the Peace Corps.
She said her time in Cameroon was a great experience that helped to shape and change her in many ways.
"I leaned patience and how to adapt," Isenhower said.
In the U.S., for example, Isenhower said buses generally run on a schedule, but in Cameroon bus services operate a little differently.
"In Cameroon, there's a lot of when the bus fills up, that's when we go," Isenhower said.
Isenhower said that out of necessity she's become a lot friendlier since spending two years in Cameroon.
"I wasn't the typical Southerner," said Isenhower, a native of Newton. "I talk a lot more now. I'm not shy about asking a question if I'm lost or anything."
In 2009, the Peace Corps received more than 15,000 applications, an 18 percent increase over 2008. It was the largest number of applications since the agency began electronically recording applications in 1998.
Williams said he doesn't think the sharp increase of applications is due to the financial crisis that has pushed unemployment into double digits in some sections of the country.
"For a person looking for a job, there are a lot easier short ways to find a job," Williams said. "We have a very rigorous selection process. It takes a number of months so you really have to have a commitment to service to join the Peace Corps."
Instead, Williams said, the increase in applications is due to the Obama's call for service and citizens' desire to serve and engage the world.
"The Peace Corps provides unique opportunities, gives you leadership skills and a chance to really make a difference at the grassroots level," Williams said.
