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We are more Alike than Different

USF alumni share challenges and rewards of Peace Corps service

By Joey Johnston, '81

They arrived from half a world away, filled with a sense of adventure and maybe some trepidation, determined to make a difference on the global stage. They returned enlightened and engaged, forever changed, reminded again that life's most significant lessons are often experienced beyond the classroom.

Wilnie Merilien, '12, and Stephen Cormier, MPH '13, used their public health education as a springboard to 27-month stints as Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, becoming two of the 500-plus Bulls who've served since the federal agency's founding in 1961. As a university dedicated to ensuring its graduates succeed in a global environment, USF paves the way for Peace Corps service.

The organization's promotional mantra proclaims, "It's the toughest job you'll ever love.'' And both Merilien and Cormier did face challenges. They experienced frustration, fatigue, exasperation and homesickness. Then came the love. In a land without the everyday conveniences they once took for granted and faced with unfamiliar customs, climates, food and languages, they eventually came to feel like they were among family.

Merilien, who went to Ethiopia to help with HIV/AIDS prevention, faced an immediate hurdle.

"When my community heard 'American volunteer,' they expected a white male," says Merilien, 28, who has returned to Tampa for her master's in public health and serves as USF's Peace Corps recruiter. "When they saw a black woman, they wondered, 'What is this?' It was almost like I had to prove I was an American.

"It was a shock for them to see someone like me, so integration was a big part of my service. They learned how diverse our country is and how many different colors we are. Soon, they began to trust me and we all learned how to work together. Whatever you're doing in this world, I think that might be the most important thing.''

Cormier, who went to Cameroon primarily to assist with water projects, says he clearly remembers the most meaningful moment of his service.

"When I looked around my village and it finally felt like home to me,'' says the 31-year-old who now works at the New York Department of Health. "I had been away at the regional capital for two or three days. It was getting dark when I returned and I'm climbing up all these wild hills. And it dawned on me: 'Ah ... home ... I'm back.'

"What you come to learn is that we're all basically more alike than we are different. When you truly make that realization — that we're all supposed to be pulling together — it's an incredible feeling.''

Cormier had discovered one of the Peace Corps' core values. The government-funded nonprofit organization created by President John F. Kennedy exists to promote peace and stability through education and training while establishing understanding and cooperation between Americans and people in other countries.

More than 7,000 volunteers currently serve in approximately 70 countries. This year, the Peace Corps ranked USF No. 19 among large schools (and No. 3 among graduate schools) on its list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities. Today, 45 Bulls are volunteering worldwide.

Undergrads can get ready for the experience by enrolling in USF's new Peace Corps Prep Program. It helps students hone competencies that will serve them abroad, including training in a particular work sector, foreign language and intercultural skills, and professional development.

Cormier took advantage of the Master's International program, which allows USF students to earn their graduate degree while serving in the corps.

And the Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program at USF awards financial assistance to returned volunteers who pursue a master's. All Coverdell Fellows complete internships in underserved Tampa Bay area communities.

"The Peace Corps was a pretty seamless part of my university experience and I'm so thankful for that,'' Cormier says. "Really, USF has made a commitment to helping support students who want to do the right thing.''

Merilien, a native of Haiti who grew up in West Palm Beach, was inspired to serve after hearing USF's Peace Corps recruiter speak.

She arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — in the nation's Amhara region — as a community health and HIV/AIDS prevention volunteer. She developed institutional and community partnerships while identifying and addressing public health needs. She worked with orphans, vulnerable children, religious leaders, local/government agencies, commercial sex workers and day laborers. She taught relationship skills, teen issues and communication skills to Ethiopian youth.

She also confronted an issue she hadn't expected, food insecurity. It has become her passion and current career track.

"I had never heard of Ethiopia and didn't know of the images of famine that everyone associated with that part of the world,'' she says. "I didn't know what a difficult country it could be to live in. We had a drought and the riverbeds dried up. We had the tools, just no water. That's what shifted my attention from infectious disease to food insecurity and disaster management.

"If there's a drought, not having water to plant or grow food, that's devastating for an agriculture-dependent economy. If farmers can't farm, the people have to migrate. But they have to be careful to avoid going somewhere where there's armed conflict or warfare.

"We are shielded from this (in America), so I acquired a very distinct world view. It has inspired me to do this work and try to help.''

In the Fundong region of Cameroon, Cormier established sustainable water programs while overseeing nutrition classes and HIV/AIDS workshops. He also taught English and computer skills.

Water systems comprised the bulk of his job. The pace of the work — particularly not having the proper tools or infrastructure — taught patience to a man more accustomed to the fast pace of New York.

When he returned to visit Cameroon a few years later, the scope of his work hit home.

"The water was still flowing in a lot of the taps,'' he says. "The systems were being kept afloat. Seeing that water still flowing was impactful for me. It felt good. Actually, it felt great.'

He'll also remember his Peace Corps experience for the friendliness and generosity of the materially impoverished villagers he lived among.

"The hospitality was overwhelming. I'm walking through villages for the first time and people in mud huts, people who don't have much, are inviting me to eat rice and stew with them. It was giving, giving, giving, all the time," he says.

"It's how they live. It's what they believe. It made an indelible impression on me, and I will carry it always. Talk about an education! I'm grateful to USF for helping to facilitate this. I believe I experienced what the Peace Corps is all about.''

Discover more about USF's activities with the Peace Corps