Kevin McCarthy.served in the Peace Corps and taught English in Turkey from 1963-65
This spring, in order to prepare for his upcoming assignment, Maddix took a course, Introduction to Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), taught by English Professor Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy is one of a number of CLAS faculty who have served in the Peace Corps. He taught English in Turkey from 1963-65. "I joined the Peace Corps because I believed, and still do, that every American should give several years to this country, whether in the military or peace-time service like the Peace Corps," he explains.
McCarthy encourages his students to consider the Peace Corps and keeps literature around his office to give to students who are interested in learning more about the program. "The Peace Corps was the best job I have ever had," he says. "It dramatically changed my life for the better. It gave me a career choice (teaching), a feeling that I did some good while in Turkey, a love of traveling, and a knowledge of Turkish, which I used when I wrote my PhD dissertation. My experience also instilled in me the desire to return to the Middle East, which I have done almost every year, whether studying Arabic in Egypt, teaching for two years in Saudi Arabia, or leading cruise groups in Ephesus and Istanbul."
McCarthy's experiences reflect a tested Peace Corps truism; no matter how "successful" a volunteer is in terms of how many projects one started or finished in a community--how many classes one taught, latrines one built or gardens one planted--the volunteer will never leave the community with less than what he or she has given. Volunteers learn much more from the people in their host country than they can hope to teach in return. The learning curve from when a volunteer steps off the plane until the close of service two years and ten weeks later is intense. Often the extent of how much volunteers have been changed by their experiences are not fully realized until they are back home and struggling to adapt to life in the US. Some say the return, in fact, is the most challenging and difficult part of the Peace Corps experience.
