Aspiration Statement

Here is the Aspiration Statement I wrote and sent to the Peace Corps Country Center in Ghana.

ASPIRATION STATEMENT

Betsy Conway

Ghana

June 6, 2011

My primary aspiration over the next 27 months is to build upon the amazing legacy of the Peace Corps in Ghana.  The bond between the United States and Ghana is a relationship I don’t yet comprehend, but the magnitude is something extraordinary.

A:  What are the professional attributes you plan to use and aspirations you hope to fulfill during your Peace Corps service?

Since my assignment is high school science, the professional attribute I plan to use most is my broad and thorough academic background.  Science is my passion, and I have spent years gaining knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics.  There is still so much in every area of science I have yet to learn, but I have a strong foundation to support me in teaching. 

I consider myself creative, and I plan to use creativity to my advantage in the classroom.  I know in Ghana we won’t have the luxuries of an American high school, like fancy lab equipment.  I plan to use my imagination and ingenuity to give my students the absolute best learning experience possible.

My primary goal in teaching is to make a positive impact on my students.  Some teachers in my past, I learned little from and barely remember.  On the other hand, a particular few teachers stand out in my life as having been a major mentor, friend, and role model.  I want to be that kind of teacher; the kind of teacher that teaches in a way that students remember.  The teachers I loved best share characteristics: charisma, love of knowledge, kindness, and reliability.  I want to bring those things to my teaching.

B: What are your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs?

 Although I have read and reread all of the materials with which the Peace Corps has provided me, I think it is impossible to fully understand the “expressed needs” of my community until I experience them.  I have to be honest, I’m unsure of what to expect as a teacher in the Peace Corps.   Though, from what I’ve learned teaching teenagers in America, the only one thing you really can expect is the unexpected!

I do, however, have a few specific strategies for myself in approaching this assignment:

1. I expect myself to approach every day and every task with a positive attitude.  I am a naturally a positive person, and I want this quality to shine every day.  It’s easy to lose a positive attitude under stress, but I will overcome whatever difficulty no matter how great and remain true to myself.

2. I will give the people I work with and the things I do 100% of myself.   I didn’t sign up for this to do it half-heartedly.  I feel I have a lot of energy, skill, and passion to give, and I plan to share it all.  If I fulfill this expectation, these next two years should be the most exhausting of my life. 

3. I will remain flexible.  I don’t think this goal will be as challenging as the first two, because I am not a creature of habit.  In fact, I dislike routine.  I am always opening new doors and trying new paths.  Regardless, I expect myself to be ready and willing to embrace change.

4. I expect myself to always strive to move forward.  A good friend of mine regularly reminds me, “If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward!”  And he is absolutely right.  There is no standing still in this world; there is only forward and backward.   No matter the challenges I face in this assignment, I expect myself to always push on forward!

I do actually have one expectation of my assignment as a Peace Corps teacher.   That is challenge.  I expect to encounter challenge, whether great or small, every single day.  Challenge is having new experiences and walking difficult or untrodden paths.  I know that might be my every day as a Peace Corps volunteer.

C: What are your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background?

My main strategy for adapting to a new culture will be starting this experience with no presumptions or bias.  I should not spend time my time creating expectations, but rather preparing myself for change and challenge.  I am an amenable, adaptable person naturally, but I know this experience will test just how far I can flex. 

While I learn about a new culture, their customs and norms, I will practice what I learn.  As I learn a new way of saying “hello” or eating supper, I plan to practice it.  I might make mistakes, but I will not be timid, and I will certainly not give up!

There is something that is both a strategy and also a very important goal to me during my service in the Peace Corps: friendship.  I think the best way for me to adapt to a new culture is through friendship.  I want to be a friend and an integrated part of the community.  I don’t want to be “the new Peace Corps volunteer,” I want to be “Betsy.”  I’ll need open communication, honesty, dependability, many hours getting to know my new friends, and many hours of letting them get to know me.  I feel and function best in life when I am a friend and have a friend.  

D: What are the skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project?

I imagine the pre-service training will be a flood of information and advice. As far as training to be a teacher, I am not worried.  I want to focus on culture and language study.   I want to know the people as well as three months of exposure and study will allow, so that I may serve them better.  I want to be a part of my community in every way possible. 

E: How do you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends?

 I don’t want to just be alive. While I am here on earth, I want to live life. And I know, no matter what happens while I am in the Peace Corps, that the next 27 months of my life will be living.  In that way, I was made for the Peace Corps.  The Peace Corps has a simple but challenging mission statement, demanding only the best of performance of their volunteers.  I have made these goals my own, and I will strive every day to accomplish them.  What I mean to say is that if I give this experience my all, when my service in Peace Corps ends, I will leave with greater expectations for myself professionally and personally than I am now even able to conceive.