"I always knew I wanted to do it at some point," He said. "But I wanted to wait until I was done with school." Holmes spent a year in the application process, filling out countless forms and going through numerous interviews. In his spare time, he earned his substitute teaching degree, which allowed him to work part time at Hanna, this time in the classroom. Finally, he heard he had been accepted into the Peace Corps, but still didn't know where he would be sent. "You can put in your preference, but they're going to send you wherever they send you," he said. "I put Africa as my first choice cause I've never been there. I put Asia as my second choice. I really didn't want to do Eastern Europe because of the cold and the food." His background in teaching and experience with the Asian culture made Chengdu the right fit. He will be working at a university teaching English to prospective teachers. For the first few weeks, he will live with a host family and intensively study Mandarin to help him acclimate to the culture. Once he begins work, he will move into housing provided for teachers, where he will live for the two-and-a-half-years he has committed to the Peace Corps. "I have been blessed with people willing to help me when I needed it and I feel that by working in the Peace Corps I will be able to pass that on to others," he wrote in his mission statement to the Peace Corps.
When he was young, Tobhiyah Holmes heard stories of his aunt's adventures with the Peace Corps. Now he has joined the Peace Corps to work as an English teacher in China, saying he wanted to give something back after all he has been given in life.
Holmes on the road to China
Peace Corps bound
By Emily Charrier-Botts
INDEX-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Caption: Sally Tuller looks on as her grandson Tobhiyah Holmes packs up his life in Sonoma to spend two years volunteering with the Peace Corps in Chengdu, China. Photo: Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune
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Yesterday, Valley resident Tobhiyah Holmes boarded a plane that will take him to Chengdu, China, for the next two-and-a-half-years. Holmes, 29, joined the Peace Corps to work as an English teacher, saying he wanted to give something back after all he has been given in life.
Holmes did not have an easy childhood. Growing up in a one-parent household, he had trouble following the rules and listening to his mother. When he didn't fit in at school, he relied on drugs and alcohol to find an escape, but it was too much for his family. In June 1994 when Holmes was 14, his mother sent him to live at Hanna Boys Center. "It was just regular getting into trouble, not listening to authority," Holmes said of what brought him to Hanna. "I was just a bit more than my mom could handle."
While at Hanna, he lived with several Laotian housemates and developed an appreciation for Asian culture that stuck with him into adulthood. And the structured lifestyle at Hanna agreed with Holmes, who learned how to become more cooperative. In July of 1995, just a year after arriving, Holmes left Hanna to move in with his grandparents, Sonoma residents Jerry and Sally Tuller. But not long after leaving Hanna, Holmes fell back into old patterns. He had trouble acclimating to a regular high school, and to cope he turned back to drugs and alcohol. His decisions got him in trouble with the law and led him to a crucial crossroad. He was about to become an adult and knew he had to decide if he wanted to continue down the path he was on or make a change for the sober life.
So he joined Alcoholics Anonymous and started taking classes at College of Marin. It was during this time that he ran into the Rev. John Crews, executive director of Hanna, who was so impressed by Holmes' transition that he invited the former resident to return to Hanna to work. For the two years he attended community college, Holmes spent his weekends at Hanna, working with young men headed toward the same dark path he danced around.
"It was good to be back, to be giving back to Hanna," Holmes said.
With financial support for he Hanna Center Scholarship Program, Holmes was able to continue his education at U.C. Davis where his fascination with Asian cultures was sparked once again. He declared his major as South East Asian sociology and comparative world studies, and was selected as a McNair Scholar, allowing him to spend a year abroad researching the tribes residing in the hills of Thailand.
His love of the East was immediate. After gradating on the Dean's List from Davis, Holmes headed back to Thailand to obtain his masters degree from the prestigious Chulalongkorn University. And after spending three years in Bangkok, he became fluent in Thai, even taking a job at a local high school.
"It was a very high stress job," he said. "But I admired what the school was trying to do and I wanted to be a part of it."
Coming back from Thailand, Holmes knew what he wanted to do next. When he was young, he heard stories of his aunt's adventures with the Peace Corps.
"I always knew I wanted to do it at some point," He said. "But I wanted to wait until I was done with school."
Holmes spent a year in the application process, filling out countless forms and going through numerous interviews. In his spare time, he earned his substitute teaching degree, which allowed him to work part time at Hanna, this time in the classroom.
Finally, he heard he had been accepted into the Peace Corps, but still didn't know where he would be sent. "You can put in your preference, but they're going to send you wherever they send you," he said. "I put Africa as my first choice cause I've never been there. I put Asia as my second choice. I really didn't want to do Eastern Europe because of the cold and the food."
His background in teaching and experience with the Asian culture made Chengdu the right fit. He will be working at a university teaching English to prospective teachers.
For the first few weeks, he will live with a host family and intensively study Mandarin to help him acclimate to the culture. Once he begins work, he will move into housing provided for teachers, where he will live for the two-and-a-half-years he has committed to the Peace Corps.
"I have been blessed with people willing to help me when I needed it and I feel that by working in the Peace Corps I will be able to pass that on to others," he wrote in his mission statement to the Peace Corps.
Last week, he was packing his bags at his grandparents' house, preparing to leave life in Sonoma behind. When asked what he will miss most, he said without hesitation, "Sourdough bread and cheese, that's what I've always missed."
