Gretchen Eisenhut may soon be departing to Senegal, West Africa on a mission with the Peace Corps
Peace Corps may take Turlock woman to Senegal
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
By Kimberly Horg - Turlock Journal
By Kimberly Horg
Turlock Journal
Turlock resident Gretchen Eisenhut may soon be departing to Senegal, West Africa on a mission with the Peace Corps.
She received an invitation about a week ago and said she’ll probably be leaving by mid-September to work in agriculture and forestry.
Eisenhut grew up in Turlock and graduated in 1998 from Turlock High School. She then attended University of California at Davis while studying philosophy and Enlgish. She was a scientific diver in the UC Davis scuba program.
After her graduation in June, she signed up to join the Peace Corps.
“There is a long application process and originally I was invited to go to Southeast Asia, and then got nominated to go to Morocco but I couldn’t at that time so I just got an invitation to go to Africa,” Eisenhut said.
Eisenhut interned with the Merced County District Attorney’s office and as a teacher at UC Davis. She is currently volunteering as an adult literacy tutor through the Stanislaus County Library.
“I am not sure what I want to do after I get out of the Peace Corps but I am hoping that it will make me make my mind up,” Eisenhut said.
Volunteering in the Peace Corps is a 27-month commitment. Volunteers receive three months of training when they arrive in their host country, and they are then sworn in for a two-year service.
More than 170,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have received invitations from 136 nations to work in various ways to improve the countries. Volunteers work and live in large, small, rural and urban communities.
There are several other Peace Corps volunteers in Turlock, said Laura Johnston, assistant public affairs specialist for Peace Corps.
Volunteers are evaluated by skill and picked based on the organization’s needs. Volunteers work in a wide range of areas, including counseling teen-agers, starting computer centers and working to promote small businesses. Volunteers work with schools, governments and entrepreneurs to achieve their goals in education, youth outreach, community development, health, AIDS education, business, information technology, agriculture and the environmental preservation.
Agriculture volunteers like Eisenhut work with farmers to increase food production while promoting environmental conservation practices. Business Development Volunteers work in education, private businesses, public organizations, government offices, cooperatives, women’s groups and youth groups.
“I have always wanted to travel and give back to a community and this is a great way to do that. I studied in France for six weeks but I wanted to spend more time there, learn more about the culture and get more involved.”
The Peace Corps grew out of the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy asked the students at the University of Michigan to serve their country to promote peace by living and working in developing countries. An agency of the federal government was then formed that is dedicated towards promoting world peace.
Kim Horg is the education and general assignment reporter at the Turlock Journal and can be reached at (209) 634-9141 or by email at kimh@turlockjournal.com.
