Thoughts & Reflections From a Peace Corps Volunteer

In late 2024, EYC welcomed Sarah, a Peace Corps volunteer, to our team. Over the next year, she will serve as a Development Assistant, Teacher Assistant, and Leadership Facilitator.

We asked Sarah to reflect on her two years with the Peace Corps in Cambodia and her initial experiences at EYC. See below for her responses.

With her thoughtful and engaging approach to her work, we are thrilled to have Sarah on board as we move forward in 2025.

Please share your background and what fueled your interest in joining the Peace Corps.?

I don’t have a ‘home,’ but I’m not homeless. How? My dad was in the U.S. Army for nearly 30 years. As a result, every two years or so, my family packed up everything and moved to a new state in the U.S. and, once, to a completely new country. As a result, I had a ‘home’ in about five states and a couple of countries before I turned 20. Now 26, I can’t imagine living anywhere longer than a couple of years. So, the idea of moving to a foreign country for two years, living, working, and serving with the people who live there not only appealed to me as a college graduate but, frankly, felt normal to me as someone who’d grown up in so many different environments surrounded by so many different people.

My interest in the Peace Corps began long before I graduated from university. I’m unsure where I first heard about it (probably from my dad or one of his colleagues), but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It seemed too good to be true, especially once I decided to go into aid and development work.

I will add here, though, that any reservations I’d had about joining the Peace Corps resolved themselves as I graduated from university in 2021 and struggled to find a job alongside all my classmates and everyone else who had graduated into a new, post-COVID world. The Peace Corps thus offered me an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.

Why Southeast Asia and specifically Cambodia?

During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, my family lived on an army base in Seoul, South Korea. Those two years truly changed the course of my life as they opened my mind to the possibility of living and working outside the U.S. Moreover, our time in South Korea cemented my love for Asia and my desire to return to the region to live and work as an adult.

The youth group at our church on base went to Cambodia for about 10 days every December to support a Korean church/school in Kandal province, about an hour and a half outside Phnom Penh. I was lucky enough to join this mission trip during my sophomore year of high school, and my life was forever changed. I fell in love with the people, the beauty, and the joy of Cambodia. So much so that I convinced the group leaders to let me come again next year, joining all the preparatory meetings virtually and flying from North Carolina to Seoul to join the trip.

As I grew up and went to university, I was consistently surprised by how few people knew about Cambodia, its vast and tragic history, and its beautiful and historic landscape. Whenever I had the chance, I presented, researched, and shared information about Cambodia. As I continued to learn more about the country, I became interested in returning to it one day. So when I applied to the Peace Corps and was asked where I’d like to be sent, there was only one place on my mind 😊 Thankfully, I was accepted and have been living in Cambodia since Oct. 2022.

Reflecting on your time in Cambodia so far, what inspired you to want to work with EYC and our communities?

As a Peace Corps volunteer, I taught English at a primary school in a rural town in Kampot for two years. This experience gave me unique insights into the challenges of teaching English in Cambodia—particularly in the provinces and at a primary school. Moreover, it gave me a unique perspective on the development field in Cambodia, how the average Cambodian lives, and what they want/need to grow—both individually and as a country.

When I decided to extend my service for a third year, I knew I wanted to work with an NGO that understood the nuances of working at the intersection of education and development in Cambodia and the vast inequalities between students in the same communities and classrooms. At EYC, I’ve found just that. The staff at EYC understand where Cambodia’s education system falls short and for whom it falls short. It’s been a privilege to work with EYC to mitigate these shortcomings in the often-forgotten communities of the city I love.

How has your perspective on youth issues changed or evolved through your experiences in Cambodia, both with the Peace Corps and now at EYC?

Working with the Peace Corps, I learned a lot about the daily life of primary school students in Cambodia, where they spend their time, money, and effort. While it’s expected that the daily life of a primary student in Cambodia is vastly different from that of an American student, I hadn’t anticipated how different some of my student’s lives would be based on their family background.

Are their parents farmers or sellers? Are they (the students) expected to help around the house, in the field or at the market? Do they live with their parents or with their aunts, uncles, or grandparents? The difference between students’ answers to these questions can highlight why some students may be more engaged in the classroom than others. And these differences are only further exacerbated in Phnom Penh as socioeconomic inequalities are even wider. My understanding of these nuances has grown as I’ve worked with Peace Corps and EYC.

At EYC, though, I’ve gained greater insights into the vastly different daily lives of secondary students and young adults, particularly the variety of options available to students when they finish grade 12, depending on their family background and the opportunities presented to them in high school. Working at EYC made me realize how little public (and sometimes private) schools teach soft skills. The Leadership Program at EYC has opened my eyes to how the Cambodian and American education systems fail to prepare their youth for the future.

Lastly, I’ve always felt that youth deserved a seat at every table as they are quite literally the future, and thus, their opinions and experiences should be considered in policymaking. But working at EYC has convinced me even more of this! The youth at EYC are so incredibly talented, capable, and intelligent! If and when they get a seat at the decision-making tables, I do not doubt that they will positively impact Cambodia’s growth.

In what ways has your Peace Corps journey prepared you for the work you are now doing at EYC?

The biggest advantage I have gained from my Peace Corps journey is my Khmer language. While I can’t yet read and write in Khmer, I have a near-fluent understanding of the language due to living in a rural town and communicating in Khmer every day for two years. This has made connecting with staff and students ten times easier as our communications have a smaller language barrier. That’s not to say there aren’t sometimes cultural differences or misunderstandings, but that I am better prepared to navigate those challenges when they come.

When you first joined EYC, what expectations did you have and how have they compared to your actual experiences?

When I first joined EYC, I didn’t entirely know what to expect as I’d never worked in a local NGO before, nor had I worked in the capacity of Development Assistant, Teacher Assistant, and Leadership Facilitator. I’ve also learned through my Peace Corps experience that it’s often better to come with no expectations than to face discrepancies in the expectations others have of you and the expectations you have of others. This has helped me to enter EYC, and other spaces, with a more open mind as to what my role is and how I can have the most impact in it. That said, any and all expectations I had of the students at EYC based on my experience with students in Kampot have been blown out of the water. The students at EYC are uniquely motivated and engaged in their education, which has been really exciting to see. 😊

What do you wish the broader community understood about EYC and its students? What qualities truly capture the spirit of EYC?

They are much more than their background or one aspect of their life. I feel strongly about this when it comes to all of Cambodia. Often, when I’m talking about my time in Cambodia with people back in the U.S., the only context they have for the country is Angkor Wat and/or the Khmer Rouge. But those are each just a slice of Cambodian history, and there is so much more.

The same goes for the students at EYC. They are so much more than ‘children living in slum communities’ or ‘youth working on leadership.’ They’re unique individuals with amazing abilities and stories, and they will truly change the world. It’s these aspects that really capture the spirit of EYC. The diversity in talent, thinking, personality, and more separates EYC from other schools and NGOs. The students and staff alike are incredibly talented and motivated to use that talent to make their environments better for the next generation. That is special and not something you can force.

How have you approached building rapport and trust with the students/youth you have worked with in Cambodia?

Speaking Khmer has been incredibly helpful in building rapport with the students and youth in Cambodia, both in Kampot and at EYC. In addition to speaking Khmer, I’ve done my best to be honest and friendly in all my interactions with students and teachers alike, so students see me not only as a trustworthy teacher but also as a reliable adult.

Something I learned through my time teaching primary students in Kampot is not to take myself too seriously. Whatever mood/vibe I give off, the students will reciprocate, so if I am shy and quiet, they will be shy and quiet. If I’m strict and serious, the students will be serious. But if I’m not afraid to make mistakes and occasionally be silly, the students won’t be afraid to make mistakes either. Ultimately, no one will remember that funny (bad) dance that Teacher Sarah did, but they will remember that it was okay to dance in Teacher Sarah’s classroom when we were celebrating! They won’t remember that Teacher Sarah misspelled badminton, but they will remember that even Teacher Sarah makes mistakes when learning. These little moments of dancing with the students, encouraging them when they make mistakes, and just spending time with each of them, have helped me to connect with the students in a way that their Khmer teachers don’t.

In Cambodia, teaching is a more highly respected position than in the States, and as such, students are typically more serious with their teacher, and vice versa. Moreover, students in Cambodia are often perfectionists in their writing and work, so encouraging them to keep going when they make mistakes is an important lesson I aim to instill in them.

What have you found most rewarding or memorable in your time with EYC so far?

My time with the youth at EYC has been by far the most memorable/rewarding part of my time at EYC thus far. I knew I liked teaching and working with primary school students, but I was nervous about teaching and working with secondary and university students. I’m not much older than some of them and was concerned about how seriously they may take me and my limited experience in the classroom. But I’ve left every class or leadership session with the youth at EYC feeling incredibly motivated, inspired, and excited for what’s to come. The youth at EYC are kind, welcoming, intelligent, ambitious, and curious, and it has been fun to teach and learn from them over the past couple of months.

In addition to working with the youth, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all the staff at EYC. The EYC team is motivated, kind, knowledgeable, and hardworking—I swear some of them do not sleep! I’m also looking forward to working more with all the staff to boost their capacity and confidence in their work and themselves.

Fast forward five years: As you reflect on your time at EYC, what accomplishments do you hope you will look back on with pride?

I hope to look back on my time with the EYC students and remember all the fond, fun memories we have together 😊 I hope that I remember them the same way they remember me—kind, helpful, intelligent, silly, smart, confident, and motivated to do/be more. I hope that I can look back on the leadership program and staff capacity-building sessions with pride in what I taught as well as what I learned. I hope to look back and see my impact in bringing people together both inside and outside EYC. Lastly, I hope I can look back on my time with EYC with few ideas left. I don’t want to leave EYC with incomplete work or ideas I didn’t share. I want to give it my all while I’m here so I can look back with no regrets.

Looking ahead, what are your career aspirations, and how do you envision your experiences with EYC shaping your future path?

I don’t know what my end goal is regarding my career, but I want to continue making a positive impact and enjoy doing that in the aid and development sector. I’ve loved working in the fields of children’s rights, youth empowerment and education, and women’s rights. Looking forward, I’d like to get experience working with migrants/on migration issues.

While I don’t know exactly where my career will take me, I’m okay with that! I want to continue traveling and moving around, albeit less often than when I was growing up. At some point, I would like to get a Masters degree. In the meantime, I know that EYC is helping to shape not only the type of career I desire but the type of employee/colleague I am. Working at EYC has confirmed that I enjoy working closely with my colleagues, seeing everyone, and catching up on one another’s projects at least once a week. I’ve learned that I prefer a smaller office as well as the flexibility to work from home/work from another office throughout the week. Finally, the EYC staff, Raphael in particular, have already taught me so much about working in a local NGO, working with partners, working with and encouraging youth, and so much more. My time at EYC will better prepare me for future jobs both in terms of hard and soft skills, and I am immensely grateful to the staff for that.