Peace Corps attracts young and old alike

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | midnight

Boulder City resident Lynda Carlson has recently been accepted to the Peace Corps.

Ever since she was a junior in high school, Boulder City resident Lynda Carlson knew she wanted to join the Peace Corps.

President John F. Kennedy spoke about the corps and what he hoped to accomplish with it that year, and it stuck with her.

"I always remembered that vision he had," she said.

Life got in the way, and family became Carlson's primary obligation. Now, at the age of 64, her children are grown and she's able to see that vision become a reality.

The former gas station owner will travel to Thailand in January to work as a volunteer business adviser.

As part of the process, which began last November, Carlson visited with future Peace Corps members Oct. 9 at the James I. Gibson Library in Henderson. While most of the presentation revolved around regional recruiter Nick Bosustow and former Peace Corps volunteers talking about their experiences, Carlson served to demonstrate that, "You really can make it through the process if you persevere," Bosustow said.

Nearly 30 people came to the presentation, which provided them with an opportunity to ask questions about the corps and start the application process.

Interested parties ranged in age from young adult to senior citizens.

Courtney Thomas, 20, of Henderson, attended the information session with her boyfriend, Alex Scheuch.

"We were curious," she said. "It's always been in the back of my mind."

Scheuch is looking for direction in his life, and they decided to attend together. She's always had an interest in traveling and helping people, she said.

She was pleasantly surprised by how safe they made it sound, she said.

Safety is one aspect reinforced by Bosustow and the panelists, Byron Williams, who worked in South Africa from 2003 to 2005; Kate and Bob Federoff, who worked in Bulgaria from 1996 to 1998; and Carolyn Proctor, who worked in Suriname from 1999 to 2001.

Despite the unexpected events that may have been going on in the areas, no one felt they were in serious danger at any point, they said. They had difficulties even coming up with a worst moment to tell the crowd about.

Bosustow said there are about 4,000 open positions each year and about 11,000 applications, which means not all applicants will be assigned to a position.

For anyone preparing to or currently going through the process, Carlson had a few words of advice:

"Leave your options open," she said. "You have a better chance of getting accepted if you do."

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.