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Published on 06/19/1995 All articles from this issue

The change (life in Latvia) will do her good - right?

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Darcy Mailander, a 1988 graduate of Los Altos High School, has joined the Peace Corps and is off to see the world. Mailander will be giving the Town Crier and our readers periodic accounts of her experiences. The following report is her first entry.

On June 1, I departed for Riga, Latvia as an eager volunteer in the Peace Corps. I am excited and nervous at the same time, and also amazed at how far I have come in life.

As a life-long resident of Los Altos, I attended Montclaire Elementary School and graduated from Los Altos High School in 1988. Unsure of what to do with my life, but with the possibility of the Peace Corps always in the back of my mind, I attended the University of California at Riverside for my first two years of college. I transferred to University of California at San Diego when I heard that they opened up a new college with an emphasis on global issues. (Following a month tour of eastern Europe on the People to People Ambassador program, I was keenly interested in world cultures and politics.) The new program at Fifth College, the Making of the Modern World, was a perfect opportunity for me to heighten my interests and knowledge of cultures and people other than my own. I graduated from the University of California at San Diego in 1992 with thoughts of the Peace Corps still etched in my mind.

In late summer of 1992, I decided to move away from my home town and find a job in Washington, D.C., since my college background was in political science and a minor in Russian language. I also carried with me experience as an intern for state Senator Lucy Killea and a non-profit organization, Californians Against Waste, which I thought would be invaluable as an employee for the federal government. However, the Peace Corps always remained a possibility. I became a staff assistant for Republican congressman Ken Calvert from Riverside, California and was promoted to a legislative assistant handling issues such as Social Security, veterans affairs, and natural resources. The highlight of my experience with the congressman was assisting my boss in offering an amendment on the House floor to a controversial bill known as the California Desert Act.

Two and a half years have gone by and the possibility of the Peace Corps has turned into a reality. It is time for me to pack my bags again and move on. I am going to miss my friends and the familiarity of Washington. However, if there is one thing I have learned in all these years since high school it is that change is always good ... right?

- Darcy Mailander