Eugene weekly., February 17, 2011, Image 21

PAID SUPPLEMENT
JENNIFER & DEREK SNELLING
Solomon Islands, 1995 – 1997
Jennifer and Derek set up a distance learning center for
rural children unable to fi nish school. Local teachers
ran the center after they left. Jennifer says, “I remember
the days spent making coconut soup on the beach with
the local women, the adventure of riding on a cargo ship
across the open ocean, and hiking through a mangrove
swamp to get to a remote village. The adventure of it all
will never leave me. My time in Peace Corps infl uences
my life every single day — in my ability to make the best
of a situation, in the way I interact with people who see
the world differently from myself, and in that I always
know that I have friends around the world.” Jennifer is a
freelance writer for The Register-Guard and the University
of Oregon. Derek practices law with Shlesinger &
deVilleneuve Attorneys, P.C.
SPIKE GILDEA
Nepal, 1983 – 1985
Spike was trained in Teaching
English as Foreign Language
(TEFL). It was challenging
to get his students to speak
English in so short a time in
a village where nobody else
spoke English. He says his more important contribution
was exposing students and friends to a completely different
way of being, especially surrounding a willingness to make
mistakes in public. He says, “I made lots of them myself
and I accepted them from my students.” Following Peace
Corps, Spike became Night Manager at the Dairy Queen
near the University of Oregon, then entered Oregon’s
MA program. He says education looked great compared
to the fast food industry. Spike has conducted fi eldwork
on isolated tribes in Venezuela, in the jungles of Brazil,
and in Guyana, and written and lectured on the 15 related
languages in the region. Spike taught at Rice University
and is currently an Associate Professor of Linguistics at
the University of Oregon. In his lectures he uses examples
from his Peace Corps experience to illustrate “how good
intentions do not protect Americans (like my younger self)
from radiating that unique combination of ignorance and
arrogance.”
“
In my district in Tanzania,
volunteers helped HIV positive
people access free medication.
They also supported secondary
education, helped with agriculture,
and taught women to make
cookers that were affordable and
environmentally friendly. At my
mother’s funeral, they dressed in
traditional fabric called khanga
and participated in our rituals
like immediate family.
”
MARKO MWIPOPO
Kiswahili Instructor, University of Oregon
CHUCK KALNBACH
Lesotho, 1977
Chuck was 12 years old and his sister was 14 when their parents joined Peace Corps. His older brothers
stayed home. Chuck’s mom had been an elementary school teacher in Michigan. In Lesotho, she worked at
a national teacher training center. Chuck’s dad had an agriculture degree from Michigan State. In Lesotho,
he taught farmers about root storage, root cellars, and how to grow alfalfa for cows. Chuck grew up in a
small farming community in Michigan, with no minorities. In their small village in Lesotho, the Kalnbachs
were the only minorities. Chuck says the experience fundamentally changed the way he viewed the world.
Chuck is a Senior Instructor of Leadership and Communication at the University of Oregon’s Lindquist
College of Business.
TOM ENGLISH
Nepal, 1966 – 1969
Tom’s Peace Corps
site was cut off during
monsoon season. He was
the fi rst and last volunteer
to serve there. He built the
fi rst area high school and
conducted the fi rst local
census of education needs.
This determined where
bridges would be built so
that children could get to
school. His Peace Corps
experience made a big
impact on how he has lived his life — doing his best
to make the world a better place. Tom is a Deacon at
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, a Chaplain at the Lane
County Jail, and Chairman of the Board of Sponsors,
Inc., a nonprofi t organization helping those released
from prison. He is active in Rotary which gives him
an opportunity to continue his service to the world
at large.
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