Getting Close

Nearing the end of November, I'm starting to really actively thing about reactivating my application. I just can't decide on the right time. If I could do it now, I would in a heartbeat, but the nominations for when I can leave aren't open yet. I was suggested to reactivate in March, but I would *love* to do it in January, the first week of January, before I leave.

In the mean time, I think I am going to send my recruiter an updated resume and update on a couple volunteer things I've done, as well as a brief statement about be overflowing excitement and barely contained patience to reactivate my application! I'll do that tomorrow I think, I don't like e-mailing at night when I'm on the verge of getting tired and could potentially get wordy or miswrite stuff or not check my grammar/spelling. 

But that is a start, that email I'm sending will be a start to let her know I'm very excitedly on my way to reactivating my application!

Update: aaaaap I did it I did it! I got it proofread by awesome Sara before I sent it, and Sara and Brittany both helped with resume updates. Everyone please keep your fingers crossed for good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so nervously excited!!!

Update: immediate out of office reply! my recruiter is out of office until December 1st...only a week, but noooooooo! I was hoping for a quick, positive reply. That's okay though, I will wait it out. Its a week, I'm patient, I can do it.

Wooooaaaaaa

So, I just happened to look at my toolkit, someone in the group just got that mysterious medical message saying "look for a letter in the mail regarding the decision"--you know, the one that freaks EVERYONE out and makes them think they have been denied. I'm sure she's cleared, but it freaks everyone out. I wish I could just give her a big hug and tell her to breathe!! Haha! I just know how that was. ANYWAY. I got on my toolkit to see what my message actually said--it said one thing before the letter, one thing after...any way, I noticed two things on there that I had never noticed before! I never got toolkit updates about that, so I had no clue those two things had changed.



So basically, it says (a) up in the red, that I had withdrawn my application and if I wish to reactivate it to contact placement, and (b) down at invitation, that I had declined my invitation to El Salvador.

I just had NO CLUE my ToolKit had updated to that!!! As "bleh" as that is to see, it IS good because it lets me know that my application really is able to be reactivated, which I have sometimes been nervous about just because its floating around "no man's land." Though I thought I was supposed to contact my recruiter instead of my PO? But it says Placement Office. Hrmmmm. Very interesting.

I dunno, I just found the whole update very interesting! Its been there since August without my even knowing it!

E-mailed My Recruiter

Having been thinking about my [hopefully] eventual joining of the Peace Corps, I thought it was time to e-mail someone. I might as well start gathering information about how I might go about reactivating the application, and if based on my timeline, I'll be able to reactivate it or if I will have to reapply and do everything over (ugh). I wrote:

Dear Hazel,

Hi, back in the February/March/April time you were acting as my recruiter and interviewed and nominated me. I recently declined my invitation to El Salvador for several reasons. One reason was that I felt I needed more time to prepare myself for that amount of time abroad. Another reason, a very big reason was that even though I am qualified, I feel I need to have some more "practical" experience on my side before I should move to a site where the community is counting on me. I feel that I could do the work had I accepted, but that if I get more real-life experience first, I will be able to give much more to a community.

That said, in October I will begin volunteering at The Literacy Center in my community, and possibly the Boys & Girls Club (also volunteering as a tutor). In January, I will be moving to Shanghai for a year to teach English. I feel this will help me gain a lot of practical experience on multiple levels.

I think my application is "deactivated"--if that is the right term. I was hoping to reactivate my application summer of '09, but due to TEFL in China, I wouldn't be able to leave until early 2010. I was wondering if that would be too early to reactivate it. If so, I am more than willing to go through the application process again. I realize that getting a nomination and invitation will be substantially harder now that I've declined an invitation, but I am willing to work hard for it. I am 100% dedicated to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer, but I feel that right now I just need that extra push in experience to be able to best serve, and that by 2010 I will have hopefully gained it.

Thanks for all your time. I cannot express how much I appreciate everything you did back then and now this.

Sincerely,

Jenna Walker

She e-mailed me back this morning. She always did answer e-mails quickly. So this was her reply:

Hello Jenna,

Sorry you could not accept the first assignment. As long as you can be reached by email and phone, you can go ahead and seek a reactivation of your application in summer of 2009. However, if my counting is correct, you will have to start over and submit a new application because, by then, the application we have on file would have been withdrawn for over a year. Good luck to you.

Hazel
Regional Recruiter
Diversity and 50+ Liaison
PCV-Lesotho, Southern Africa 2003-2005

I'm glad her e-mail was helpful and nonjudgmental. Not to say that I expected her or anyone else to be (tho a handful of people have been)...its just that, its not really the best topic--declining and invite. She's always been great--always responds promptly, very nice, very helpful. Good recruiter in my opinion!

Okay, so I see what she's saying, 100%. I think in July, I will call and see if I can reactivate my application for an early 2010 departure, or if it is too early. If its 100 early, I'll just reapply--that should still give me enough time for a February-June departure date I think?

I really do want to specify a region this time...I think that would be better for me. I'm thinking EE/CA, Africa, and Asia. That may change in time, I should also look at where my skills best fit, and decide exactly why I'd like each region and how I'd do better in one over another. Stuff like that. Really know before I go into this again. I think that may be how I tripped up a lot last time. Besides experience, I didn't think about where I could best personally flourish or do my best with the community. Things to think about people, things to think about!

I do have a PO

Yesterday, I wrote an e-mail to my recruiter to give her a couple updates, let her know I was still in the loop.  I wrote about my Red Cross training next week, my TEFL class, future YWCA volunteering, and my decision to open up my placement to the Caribbean in case a change was needed. I'd previously said--anywhere, but not Caribbean, but I've decided otherwise since I first said that.

This morning, she e-mailed me back.  She said: 

I forwarded your email to the Placement Officer who has your folder. I no longer have it and am not in a position to add anything to it, or to effect any changes in your nomination. But, the update should be helpful, in any case.

So it is now official (tho it probably was before, just not to my knowledge) that I have a placement officer. I may e-mail her back asking for the name/e-mail of my PO. Anyway, I was happy to hear I'm on someone's desk in IAP and that the update will be useful!

INTERVIEW!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

HOW AMAZING! Just when I said nothing was happening and I was ancie, hehe, I get a call! It was "unknown number." I instantly thought it was either going to be great news from my recruiter at the PC, or bad news from the oral surgeons office to schedule my wisdoms to get removed. IT WAS MY RECRUITER!

It was just a quick phone call to let me know she has received all my information that she needs right now and that she'd like to schedule an interview. It is this Friday at 10:30 and should be about 40 minutes I think.  And I get to have a phone interview. That means that (1) I don't have to drive 8 miserable hours to Chicago, and (2) I can be in super comfy sweats if I want to be! Yay. Just what I was hoping for!!!

She was older than I thought she'd be, so I wonder if the interview will be one of the more formal ones as opposed to one of those that is like talking to a good friend about what you want to do. 

Well, I better get cracking on my interview questions--that is trying to figure out those things like leadership skills and whatever. EXCITING! Plus she seemed super nice.

*crosses my finger for a nomination*

Timeline Thus Far:

February 28, 2008--Sent Personal Application and Health Review Application in.

March 5, 2008--Two of Three recommendations are submitted.

March 6, 2008--Receive a letter from my recruiter that includes my Toolkit information!

March 7, 2008--Third recommendation submitted.

March 10, 2008--Legal Kit is received in the mail.

March 11, 2008--Go downtown to the Police Station to be fingerprinted.

March 14, 2008--Rush to the post office to send my legal kit back to my recruiter, Hazel, in Chicago.

March 18, 2008--My recruiter at 4:15 to let me know she had received my packet and everything was in order. We set up a phone interview for this Friday, the 21st, at 10:30.

It's been 20 days, just under 3 weeks, and I'm up for my interview! SWEET! Let's keep this ball rolling!

Nearly There

I should receive my IU transcript in the mail tomorrow, meaning I should be able to send my legal packet off tomorrow! Yay! I still have to finish my skills worksheets, which are pathetic, but I'm trying my best and they should be done tonight.  After I send that off, within a few days I should hear from my recruiter, Hazel, about setting up an interview!

It's really become my opinion that if you sign up for the PC, you'll ultimately get accepted and your invitation unless (a) you drop out of the application process, or (b) you don't medically clear. Thoughts?