Dennis Aronson and Susan (Girdler) Aronson married and joined the Peace Corps. Their assignment: Afghanistan.



Dennis Aronson and Susan (Girdler) Aronson married and joined the Peace Corps. Their assignment: Afghanistan.

Dennis Aronson ’63 and Susan (Girdler) Aronson ’63

Almost 40 years ago, after graduating from Pomona College in 1963, Susan (Girdler) and I were married and joined the Peace Corps. Our assignment: Afghanistan.

The Peace Corps experience had a profound influence on our lives, our careers, our subsequent volunteer work, many of our personal relationships and our appreciation of being United States citizens.

We both taught English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Afghanistan from 1963 to 1965. After our Peace Corps service, we continued in TEFL in Saudi Arabia and in Lebanon. (I took my MA in TEFL at the American University of Beirut.) Back in the United States, Susan taught foreign students, and we were instrumental in establishing an ESL program in West Virginia.

Susan was always dedicated to helping people in need. She cared for disadvantaged foster babies, coordinated CROP Walks (to provide food overseas and in the United States) and headed up numerous outreach projects throughout her life. One of her major volunteer efforts was editing the newsletter for Friends of Afghanistan, an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association. I became the editor after Susan passed away in May 2002.

We met many of our friends through the Peace Corps experience, including several students and Afghan colleagues with whom we have kept in touch over the years. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, a former student became a political prisoner and was threatened to be killed. He was released after Amnesty International intervened—and we became AI members.

Many of our activities were focused on the third goal of the Peace Corps: bringing the world back home. We gave many presentations about the experience of living in and learning about a different culture and the way the experience made us appreciate what we have here in the United States: a democratic system of government with freedom of speech and movement, educational opportunities and an abundance of clean food and water. (I still appreciate being able to use water out of a tap and not having to boil drinking water.)

In short, the Peace Corps experience had a major impact on our lives.

When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny? Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts." In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.

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