I have always thought that the Peace Corps could be a cool thing to do some day. When I was completing my music therapy internship at the Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County, my internship director encouraged me to just live life in the moment and apply. Because I wasn't sure of my job situation, figured I could use the time to work on my spanish, and I was not in a relationship, I decided to go ahead and apply in August 2014. In March of 2015, I was asked if I would consider interviewing a Youth Development position in Fiji because I had originally applied for Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
I was incredibly lucky that the placement officer was a former band person and a musician; she already knew what music therapy was and that is always half the battle as a music therapist. I was stoked because I was talking to someone who already understood what I do and it was incredibly exciting. Later that month, I was invited to serve as a Community Youth Empowerment Facilitator as part of Group 92, departing August 31, 2015. The "Community Youth Empowerment Project" will be working to improve mental health for the youth in Fiji.
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| Part of Group 92 in Suva, Fiji |
I highly encourage anyone who is considering applying to go ahead and do so, but be flexible. From what I've read so far, the Peace Corps has positions in hospices, hospitals, schools, developmental disabilities, geriatric, and youth development. All of these coincide very well with the populations that a music therapist is trained to work within! Please contact me at KelliMaddock88@gmail.com for more information (I'm not sure I will always have access to the internet, so please be patient with me)!
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