Monday, April 25, 2011

Aspiration Statement

All Peace Corps Invitees have to submit an aspiration statement. My aspiration statement answers questions about my expectations for service, my strategies for adapting to a new culture, and how I expect my service to further my personal and career goals.

The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.



During my service I plan to be extremely cooperative, open, accepting and caring towards my community and the people I serve. I hope that through these traits I will gain their trust so that, together, we can make the most progress possible during my stay in Suriname. I hope to be reminded through everyday encounters, success, and disappointments of the reasons I wanted to be a part of the Peace Corps. I hope to return to the United States after my service with a love and understanding for a country and its citizens once unknown to me.

Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

I plan to be as approachable and cordial as possible. I will strive to be patient and to listen more than I speak. I want the members of my community to view me as understanding, compassionate, and trustworthy. Through these traits, I believe, that the Surinamese people I serve will feel confident in my motives for living and working with them. Mutual understanding and goals are key when working towards any change, and I hope that the people of my community will feel comfortable expressing their concerns and disagreements with me in order to make needed adjustments and changes.

  
Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.

I know that life in Suriname will be quite different from life in the U.S., however, I do not foresee much difficulty in my adjustment. I am a versatile person and I am extremely interested in different cultures. I lived abroad in the past, so I know that many changes await me in Suriname. I hope that by being patient with myself and those around me, as well as maintaining my sense of humor, I will be better able to integrate into my community. A different way of life is one of the many benefits of Peace Corps service, and I hope to fully embrace the opportunity I have been given to experience life in a completely new way.  

The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project. 

During pre-service training, I hope to gain a great deal of knowledge about the people, cultures, and aspirations of Suriname. I hope to spend time talking with community officials, educators, and citizens to gain as much perspective as possible on the health and sanitation needs in their country and communities. I plan to be educated in Dutch as well as my local language, and to work hard at memorizing and speaking them so that I may be as helpful as possible towards the betterment of my community and the lives of its citizens. I also plan to gain the technical knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill my position as completely as possible.

How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends. 

I believe I will return from service a more patient person with a new confidence and fervor for meeting new challenges both in my personal or professional life. I hope that I return with a deeper understanding of the needs of the world and the ways in which compassionate listening and understanding can not only dispel myths and break down the barriers of ethnocentrism, but can, and will, change the lives of both the served and the servant.  





No comments:

Post a Comment