Back in 2009: Part 5

This is the fifth post of a series to retroactively document my decision and application process leading up to my invitation to the Peace Corps. This entry will take us into the year 2010, right up to the point where this blog started, despite the name of the series.

After the actual nomination things got very slow. I received notice a while later that I had missed a booster shot on my medical evaluation. I got it done in Texas re-sent my packet and continued waiting. By the time Christmas was rolling around I received my medical clearance. I was still slated for a program leaving in August of 2010 and was expecting a nomination 6 months ahead of then. In January of 2010, I was contacted by a legal specialist at the Peace Corps asking about my house and car loans, I explained that if worse came worse I had the money to cover both loans, but would be attempting to sell them both prior to leaving. I also said that I looked forward to receiving a nomination in February. He was satisfied with my financial situation, but commented that I likely wouldn't be contacted until April. This was very disappointing. I had been waiting with very little news for several months now and would have to wait longer still.

One thing nobody seems to realize about the Peace Corps application process, even after you explain it to them several times, is that a nomination is not solid, and you aren't really through the process until you are invited. As time went by I had no new to relay on to friends and family. Through February, March, and into April I began obsessively checking www.PeaceCorpswiki.com for the latest staging dates. I knew I was nominated for a non French speaking African country with a Water Resources program. Mauritania, Uganda, and others stood out as a possibility.

During that time I was contacted by one of my oldest friends asking me to be in his August 7 wedding. I of course couldn't give him a yes or no, but promised he would be among the first to know. In late April I received a call that my invitation was in the mail; they would not tell me where to over the phone. I was headed out of town to see family and friends that weekend in Columbia, and so would have to wait until I got back to find out where I was going. The only assignment listed in Africa departing in August was Uganda, leaving on August 3. I loved everything I read about Uganda, but the departure date was a heart-breaker. I filled in family and friends that it was the most likely scenario that weekend.

When I returned home my packet was waiting for me on my door step. I opened it up and was unsurprised to read that I was invited to depart for Uganda on August 3. I was shocked to see that instead of the Engineering assignment I had been nominated for, they had invited me to a Water & Sanitation Extension assignment. The two were related and worked together, but it was disappointing. One of my biggest motivations for joining the Peace Corps was the opportunity to use my engineering background, something I felt I was missing out on with my company. Over the next few days I reviewed all the materials, considered everything, prayed, and then accepted my invitation. Later that night I started this blog.

Over the next few weeks I would inform folks at my company, start a packing list, and put my condo on the market.

Ultimately things worked out great, my condo sold in no time at all, I made a clean break away from my company, was able to sell a ton of my furniture to the buyers of my condo, and late in the game, got notice that they couldn't get enough airline tickets for August 3 and would be departing on August 9.

Back in 2009: Part 4

When I called my recruiter in late July, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there was an engineering position available in Africa that had no language requirements departing in August of 2010. The registration window would open the morning of the first Monday in August. Late in the day the upcoming Monday I received a call that I had been nominated for one of four slots for that position. That day I sent an email to everyone who had written me a letter of recommendation explaining the post nomination review process.

Not long after being nominated we had a call in at work for my entire department. At the end of the call in it was announced that our department head would be moving to a new position and that the new department head would be assuming his responsibilities soon. This was disappointing. I didn't have any history with the new head. Regardless, now that I was nominated, I scheduled some face time with him on my next visit home.

A short while after being nominated I received my medical and dental packages. I scheduled visits with both my doctor and dentist in Columbia for late September. I had told my doctor I needed some paper work filled out for an overseas program, not realizing the extent of the paper work. He hadn't really scheduled the time the paper work would take but accommodated me anyway. I got a shot, blood test, urine test, other tests, full physical, history review and was set. I left my doctor a stamped envelope to send my paper work to me. The dental exam went off without a hitch. My dental hygienist laughed at all the stuff the package required, saying she hadn't done any of it since school. It felt good to be getting all this done so quickly.

I traveled up to Greenville for a day to meet with my new department head. We didn't know one another and he was new in the job. I never planned on it being that in depth a meeting, just a chance to let him know what I was up to. He was surprised, fun to talk with, a good guy, but with no prior history wasn't going to venture too far into my personal decisions. I was happy with the way the meeting went and soon was headed back to Texas. I did ask that we continue not to publicize my candidacy. Only 50% of nominated persons are actually placed in country, and so I didn't want things to fall apart and then have to explain to everyone when they saw me in a year why I wasn't in Africa. Only a few people at my company knew, and only my closest friends and family in Columbia.

When I arrived back in Texas, I was asked to join a colleague in a conference room upon arriving at work my first morning back. He had been at the site temporarily providing a little oversight as we get started. His function was similar to mine, and even though I was the project "lead," he was much more experienced than myself. He informed he would be staying on the project. He explained that it was not because I couldn't do the job, and that the decision was not intended to reflect poorly on me. His explanation was that he was sticking around because there weren't a lot of jobs in the economy and he needed to be somewhere. As logical as all that was I took it as a clear sign that some people in my company weren't confident I could do the job, and despite intents it did reflect poorly on me. More importantly, it was a sign that there were not going to be real opportunities in my company anytime soon. We were already overstaffed and now I was splitting my job responsibilities with someone who had been with the company 5x as long as I had. I had already believed it, this was just greater confirmation, that the experience I would gain by going to Africa would be more valuable to my company than if I stayed and worked for them.

Back In 2009: Part 3

This is the third post of a series to retroactively document my decision and application process leading up to my invitation to the Peace Corps.

Shortly after sending in my application I was contacted by my recruiter with three possible assignments, Water Resources Engineering, Water and Sanitation Extension, and Construction. The Water Resources Engineering and Water and Sanitation Extension programs both immediately appealed to me. I was most interested in working in the developing world and I knew because of my lack of language skills that Asia and Africa were my most likely qualifiable destinations.

I had a screening call with my recruiter and we proceeded to schedule an interview. I was working out of our California office at the time and would be heading to my job site in Texas in about a week. We setup an interview on Friday July 3 in Atlanta, GA. I planned to fly in the night before, sleep at one of the airport hotels, take the MARTA to the interview, get back to the airport and fly into Columbia to see friends and family over the weekend. The interview went great. We met at a Starbucks, the interview lasting about an hour and a half to two hours. My lack of language skills made me a bit of a long shot as most assignments in my area of expertise required several years of Spanish courses. I put my recruiter on the spot and asked if she would nominate me for a position. She acknowledged that if a position came up without language requirements (meaning not in a Spanish or French speaking country) then she would nominate me. There were no such positions currently available. (the economic meltdown had made the Peace Corps very popular again, leaving minimal vacancies) New assignments would be posted in the last week of July, and nominations could be submitted the first Monday morning in August. My recruiter asked that I call her the last week in July so that we could discuss the new assignments. That was the indication I had been waiting for. I decided now that I was a serious candidate I would fill in my parents and friends.

That weekend I attended fireworks with my friends at Fort Jackson and proceeded to fill them in. Later in the weekend I would tell my parents. My family and friends had various reactions, none negative, but a lot of folks didn't really know what to say. After being in town for about 48 hours I was headed back to Texas. Over the next couple weeks I'd fill in some friends I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to that weekend while I was in town.

In mid July I had software training scheduled in our Greenville office. I took the opportunity to schedule some face time with a mentor in the home office and fill him in on the opportunity. He had taken a lot of interest in my career and if I wanted to make sure my network in Fluor didn't get blindsided by my pursuing a position with the Peace Corps. He wasn't excited by the move and let me know that he thought it was a mistake, but also said he'd support me, try to help me pursue it as a leave of absence, and would recommend the company hire me back afterwards should I have to resign. His key objection was that the timing was just at a critical juncture in my career, and a two year hiatus would be a lot to recover from. I appreciated the advice, and still worry that he is correct, but I didn't feel that my career was at a critical juncture, I felt it was in a traffic jam. We hadn't won a lot of jobs, there weren't a lot of stretch opportunities out there, and the job I was on was overstaffed with people more experienced than myself. I had fewer responsibilities than I had been given on my previous assignment and folks were already talking about rolling our entire team onto the next project. I liked the people on my team, but things were crowded, I was not providing much contribution, and didn't want to get stuck working in the same role, where I couldn't contribute, on another project. I believed the experience I could get working in the Peace Corps would be more valuable to my company then my floating on this team an extra two years while the economy recovered. I, of course, still had not been nominated so we left it with a simple acknowledgement that I was continuing to pursue it, that I may know something in early August, and that I would keep him in the loop.

I stayed in Columbia through the weekend, went to a bar with a few friends, filled in those that weren't in the loop yet of what I was up too, and then headed back to Texas.

Back in 2009: Part 2

This is the second post of a series intended to retroactively document my decision and application process leading up to my invitation to the Peace Corps.

Easter weekend 2009 my parents drove to New Jersey to visit my grandfather in the hospital. My brother was working all day so I took my little sister to Easter dinner. I decided it would be a good time to talk with her and let her know what I was working on. I started, "Shannon, I have something serious I need to talk to you about." Her face lit up with excitement as she asked, "Ryan! Are you gay!." I explained that I thought I was going to apply for the Peace Corps, what that would mean, why I was doing it, and much her disappointment... that she still didn't have a gay brother.

About two weeks before my last day at the project site in Columbia, I spent a weekend in Brevard, NC, one of my favorite places on earth. As always the place just brought a certain calmness over me. My next day at work I had no fear me. First thing in the morning I walked into a mentors office and asked what I needed to do to get a letter of recommendation to work for another company. We talked about who to ask, how to ask, and by the end of the day it was done. Suddenly things were moving very fast. Within 2 days I'd ask for the other two recommendations.

The next weekend I told my little brother what I was up to. I don't remember if I told him at the time, but there was never a doubt in my mind that what I was going to miss most while away was being with the people I loved on the happiest day of their life. Along with a handful of lifelong friends, my brother was probably going to get married while I was away. I don't remember a lot of the conversation but think it was in my convertible driving home from church.

Steven's girlfriend Nichole heard about it shortly thereafter. I believe she mentioned it to me later that night.

I wrote my cross cultural essay on my blackberry during my brother's college graduation.

At this point I could have finished my application but they were still looking for folks to depart in the 2nd quarter of 2010; I didn't even want to be considered until fall because of the commitment I'd made to my next project assignment. Based on what I had seen of the schedule it looked as though we would peak in the summer, start commissioning, and be in the finishing stages by early fall. I'd continue working on the application but wasn't going to send in until June. In the meantime I was packing up my apartment, finalizing the purchase of my condo in Texas, moving to Texas, flying to California, and getting acquainted with my new job assignment.

My first weekend in California was a 3 day weekend, I was turning 25, and all my friends were 2000 miles away... so I drove Vegas. I had fun, but overall found the town a little disturbing. Just too much consumption of vices. The stock market had crashed in the past year; the country was in the middle of what we now call 'The Great Recession.' I had recently read a great article in 'Time' entitled 'The End of Excess: Is this crisis good for America?'; it examined craziness of how we had lived and how we were finally now learning that we could not keep living at that pace. I don't condemn letting loose and having a little fun, but the setting did provide me an opportunity to let the calling I'd been feeling contrast with the values of much of our nation.

Over the next week I finalized my application, and in the first week of June 2009 I sent it in.

Back In 2009: Part 1

This is the first post of an intended series to retroactively document my decision and application process leading up to my invitation to the Peace Corps.

I've written this article 5 times, with varying lengths, documenting varying experiences, with varying people. It just hasn't worked. I can't really put on paper why I'm joining the Peace Corps; it's too convoluted.

The only thing that comes close is saying that it was the sum of my experiences in Columbia from August 2007 to May 2009. The people, places, and events from my time there had me primed to make a major change in my life.

I started reconsidering where I was going and why I was going there. I wasn't satisfied with my job and instead of sticking with it for my future, I just felt like doing whatever I wanted to do now, and letting my career work itself out later. In passing I had overheard some chatter about the Peace Corps. I looked up the website one afternoon, the requirements, the projects, the lifestyle and liked everything I saw. I was qualified for this, I was willing to live like that, and I could use these experiences to build on my foundation at my company. Looking over the 20 pages of forms in the application, I didn't see anything that would disqualify me. I needed 3 letters of recommendation, one from an educator or supervisor, one from a volunteer coordinator, and one from an old friend. The volunteer coordinator and old friend would be easy, the supervisor would be more complicated.

I started filling out the application but tentatively. There weren't any educators that would write me a recommendation because none of my professors from Clemson could pick me out of a lineup. I'd been out of school 3 years and had barely attended a class in 6. I wasn't going to use my boss from when I was an RA at Clemson; too small a job, too long ago. So I decided that if I was going to go through with this, I was going to have to ask a leader from my company to help me leave it. I wasn't going to waste the other two's time if I wasn't going through with this. I was deadlocked until I was ready to broach the subject at work.