Returned Peace Corps Volunteer William Preston can be contacted at williamdprestonapearsoneddcom
Country of Service: Thailand
Training Group: Thai 58
Cities you served in: Yala, Sukhothai, Phitsanuloke, Bangkok
Arrival Year: 1977
Departure Year: 1980
Work Description:
Year 1, I worked as an English teacher at a Thai government secondary school in Yala province. Year 2, I joined the Thai Ministry of Education's Regional Supervisory Unit, and worked as an English teacher and teacher trainer for in secondary schools in Sukhothai and Phitsanuloke provinces. In addition to teaching English secondary students, another volunteer and I organized intensive English language workshops and seminars for Thai secondary teachers of English. Year 3, I worked as a teacher and trainer at the British Council in Bangkok, as part of a consortium involving the Peace Corps, Thai Ministry of Education, and the British Council. Another volunteer and I taught 9-week intensive English seminars for Thai secondary English teachers. We also observed teachers after the seminars.
Other Countries you served in, Training Group Name Arrival Year, Departure Year, Work Description:
None, but I was also a VISTA worker (community organizer) from 1970-72 in Yonkers, New York, working for the Westchester Legal Aid Society.
Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:
I reveived an MA in ESL from the University of Hawaii immediately following Peace Corps (1980-81). From 1881-82, I worked as an ESL supervisor in Galang, Indonesia, for a consortium including the Experiment in International Living, Save the Children, and the U.S. Department of State. I trained Indonesian teachers who taught English and cross-cultural education to Vietnamese refugees who were scheduled for resettlement in the US. I worked as an ESL supervisor for Cathloic Charities Diocese of Stockton, California for one year after leaving Galang. Then I taught English in a private language school in Spain in 1984. I returned to teh US in 1985, and begain working as an editor for various educational publishers, including Prentice Hall, Scholastic, Oxford University Press, and McGraw-Hill. I currently work for Pearson Education in White Plains, where I have been a senior editor since 1998.
Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:
I still look back most fondly on my years in Thailand and believe they were among the most meaningful in my life. Certainly, I couldn't do the work I do now, writing and editing ESL textbooks and materials, without the firsthand knowledge and experience I got working with Thai teachers and students. I always picture them when I'm working on English materials for international students.
Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:
I would like to get in touch with Kevin Quigley, whom I just learned is the new president of NPCA. He and I worked together in Sukhothai and Phitsanuloke in Thailand in 1999 as part of the Regional Supervisory Unit. We kept in touch for a time after Peace Corps, but we both seem like people who change jobs often, so I lost touch. I'd love to congratulate him on his new job with Peace Corps!
Any message for returned volunteers?:
Sure: Contratulations to Kevin Quigley on his new job with Peace Corps! I've tried to track you down at the Asia Society and elsewhere, but you move too quickly (I should talk, having worked for several different publishers in the past 18 years). Anyway, I'd love to hear from you and catch up on what's been happening. All the best, for sure!
Originally posted: July 30, 2003
