After hearing about her friends’ experiences and stories while volunteering for the Peace Corps, Combs decided to apply to be a volunteer in Ecuador and the East Caribbean.
“I love traveling and I wanted to use my teaching degree and experience outside of the U.S., so I decided to apply,” Combs said. “The Peace Corps was attractive to me because I was looking for something to do before getting a permanent position at a school in the U.S. and I would get to go to a different country to teach.”
After being accepted into the volunteer program, Combs learned that she will be placed at Thibaud Primary School in Thibaud, St. Andrew, Dominica, working with grades K-3 serving as a literacy co-teacher. There, Combs says she will work with students and assist teachers.
“I look forward to working with the students in my school to help improve their language arts skills,” Combs said.
In order to prepare for two years of serving in another country, Peace Corps volunteers complete pre-service training including language, culture, health and safety. Combs says the training has been fairly intense.
“Right now, a typical day is getting on the bus at 6 a.m. to get to training in the Capitol, which is about two hours away,” she said. “Then we have training all day with sessions that center around things like making relationships within our communities, learning about the Dominican culture, and learning about how to be effective co-teachers.”
Combs was sworn in as an official Peace Corps volunteer on Aug. 18 and will be starting her volunteer work at school on Sept. 4.
“I am so excited to meet the students in my school because they are the reason I am here,” Combs said. “I have already met some kids in my village and they have been so sweet to me, so I am really excited to work with them.”
(9960/cam)