JANUARY 5, 2011:
Congratulations! You have successfully submitted your Peace Corps Volunteer application and Health Status Review.
Thank you for taking the first step toward becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. A Peace Corps recruiter will contact you within the next three to four weeks. During this time, you will also receive a letter in the mail with information about accessing My Toolkit, the Peace Corps' online application status check system. Your My Toolkit account will allow you to check the status of your application and respond quickly to requests for any additional information.
Thanks again, and good luck!
JANUARY 7, 2011:
In The Envelope:
1 letter from representative Jennifer Clowers
1 catalog about the Peace Corps
2 fingerprint charts
1 sample fingerprint chart
1 sheet regarding application process
1 Privacy Act Statement
1 return envelope
JANUARY 10, 2011:
To Jennifer Clowers,
My name is Christopher Fryer and I've received my follow-up paperwork for the Peace Corps application, including the fingerprint charts and background check questionnaire. As requested, I am e-mailing you to continue the process and arrange a possible interview. I would have called this morning but I have to go to work in thirty minutes and wasn't sure how much time we needed to talk, but I am free again tomorrow morning or Wednesday, so I can make sure I have suitable time for a conversation, if need be
Otherwise, I look forward to continuing the process and can't wait to get started.
Thank you,
Christopher Fryer
Hello,
I will be out of the office December 31st through January 19th. I will be back in the office Thursday, January 20th. If you need immediate assistance, please contact the front desk at (510) ###-####.
Thank you and have a great day!
Thank you and have a great day!
- Jennifer Clowers
JANUARY 11, 2011:
JANUARY 15, 2011:
JANUARY 21, 2011:
I look forward to our interview on February 9th at 2pm. The interview will take about 1-1 ½ hours. Please complete all the forms from the packet and bring them with you to the interview.
Please submit the following completed forms:
** Official Transcripts (one for each school attended)
** Revised resume
** 2 References (Job supervisor, Professor reference)
** NAC form
** 2 Finger print cards
** Financial obligations statement
Cheers, Jennifer Clowers
JANUARY 28, 2011:
Thank you for your email. I just received your reference from Linda Lareau, whom I will count as your Volunteer supervisor reference, since you cannot find a professor reference. All your references have been submitted at this time. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you on the 9th.
Cheers,
Jennifer Clowers
FEBRUARY 10, 2011:
Hello Jennifer,
The interview with Nicole went very well. It was a pleasure coming to Oakland. I hope she said good things about me and I also hope that you are feeling better. I wanted to inform you that I'm getting in touch with Sacramento State to apply for the TESOL program that coordinates with the Peace Corps to make me a proficient English teacher in other countries. She said you would put my application on hold until I was accepted into the program. Also, Nicole suggested I begin seeking tutoring positions to become a more competitive applicant, which I plan on doing as soon as I finish this message.
- Chris Fryer
FEBRUARY 14, 2011:
Write a brief statement (500 words or less) describing reason(s) for pursuing graduate or postbaccalaureate study. Include any additional information concerning your preparation that is pertinent to the objective specified. You may also send a resume and/or letters of reference if required by department.My primary interest is to become a Peace Corps volunteer who teaches English to students in another country. Afterward, it is my plan to complete the TESOL Program through Sacramento State and continue along a path toward becoming a professor at a California university. For someone who intends to teach as a career, I can think of no better path than this to take. The Peace Corps will teach me valuable lessons and strengthen my abilities as a human being, which I will then instill into the minds of future students as my career continues forward. Mostly I want to be the ideal candidate for Peace Corps service so that I might gain the full value of such an experience and also build knowledge and confidence to use as a teacher in the future upon my return.
FEBRUARY 15, 2011:
Thank you for your application to California State University, Sacramento for the Fall 2011 semester. The Office of Graduate Studies looks forward to working with students in every aspect of their future academic career.
MARCH 23, 2011:
This is Chris Fryer, a Peace Corps applicant with his application on hold. Hopefully you remember me. I had my interview in February. I wanted to share the news that I've gotten involved with a middle school where I'm tutoring 7th graders, and I wanted to ask what sort of information I should be keeping track of so that I can incorporate the experience with my application. Hopefully I'll hear back from Sacramento State soon and find out if I'm accepted into the TESOL Program they're offering.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your email and I am glad to hear that you are tutoring. Hope that you are doing well. Please complete the attached skill addendum and be sure to give an estimate of the number of hours worked per week. Keep me posted on Sac State. Have a great day!
APRIL 12, 2011:
MAY 1, 2011:
Cheers, Jennifer
MAY 26, 2011:
MAY 31, 2011:
Hi Christopher,
Welcome! Congratulations on your nomination to a Peace Corps Master’s International assignment! Your recruiter has nominated you to be considered for programs departing in July, August, and September 2012. The nomination from your recruiter is a recommendation that your application be given further consideration.
APRIL 12, 2011:
Hey Jennifer,
Good news! I got accepted into Sac State for this coming fall. I attached a little JPEG snapshot of the message. What would be the next thing I needed to do?
- Chris Fryer
Hi Chris,
Congratulations! That’s wonderful news. I will need a copy of your official acceptance letter to the Master’s International program at Sac State. Also, you will need to give me the date of your availability for Peace Corps – please discuss with the MI coordinator, Julian Heather, to determine when you can leave for Peace Corps, following your Sac State coursework. I imagine it would be sometime in the summer of 2012. Thanks so much and congrats again!
Cheers, Jennifer Clowers
MAY 1, 2011:
MAY 16, 2011:
Hi Chris,
I just left you a voicemail message. What is your date of availability? Please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!
Cheers, Jennifer
Hey Jennifer,
Sorry I missed your call, again.... I thought I'd been waiting for an e-mail response from the school about my departure, but realized that they'd already gotten back to me and the message was buried in the inbox. That said, I've copied the message below and it seems the date I'll be ready to leave is June 1st of 2012. How exciting to have that date on the calendar! Thanks for keeping up with me. I can't wait!
- Chris
(here's the e-mail I received)
Hi Chris,
You have to complete a full year of course work, so that means you should be available to ship out from June 1, 2012 (this assumes you'll want a few days at the end of the semester to get all your affairs in order and say goodbye to friends and family).
- JulianMAY 20, 2011:
MAY 31, 2011:
Hi Christopher,
Welcome! Congratulations on your nomination to a Peace Corps Master’s International assignment! Your recruiter has nominated you to be considered for programs departing in July, August, and September 2012. The nomination from your recruiter is a recommendation that your application be given further consideration.
Your file has been received in the Placement Office at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, DC. This is the place where several important screenings and assessments take place and assignment matches for qualified prospective volunteers are finalized.
You continue to play a crucial role in these matters. Getting your documents to The Peace Corps in a timely manner keeps your file moving forward. Your file cannot be processed without all requested documentation.
As you discussed with your recruiter during the interview, the medical screening has begun. The Office of Medical Services (OMS) has or will contact you regarding medical and dental examinations. Please schedule your exams to take place 9-12 months before your expected departure. It is imperative that you submit all OMS forms and requested information promptly. If you have already submitted your medical information, please note that it takes OMS 8-12 weeks to review an applicant’s paperwork and determine whether that applicant is medically qualified for service. If you have questions about the medical and dental documents you receive, please contact OMS at 1-800-424-8580, option 2, extension 4047.
Once you have been medically qualified and have met the legal criteria, your file will then be passed along to a Placement Officer (PO). The PO will evaluate your application for suitability and competitiveness. You may be contacted at this point for additional information including an update on the status or completion of any previously requested volunteer experience or language coursework. The Placement Officer will assess your skills with overseas programming needs based on the academic, technical, and/or language requirements of the host country.
Master’s International applicants are nominated to a Peace Corps assignment based on the graduate degree they are pursuing. The region where you will serve gets determined once you are medically qualified. If you wish to state a preference for serving in a specific region, you may do so. We will do our best to accommodate your request, but we cannot guarantee that you will receive an invitation to serve in the region you requested. We encourage all applicants to be flexible as ultimately we must be able to place Volunteers where they are cleared and qualified to serve and where they are needed most.
Additionally, some programs have certain language requirements. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the language level needed to be considered for a program in a Spanish or French speaking country.
Once a Placement Officer reviews your file, determines that you are suitable for service, and matches your skills with a program, he/she will issue you an invitation. We recommend that you not make any major commitments or changes, such as moving out of your residence or leaving your job, until you receive and accept an invitation. Please note that you are responsible for informing the Placement Legal Office if there are any changes to your legal status.
Warm regards, Danielle Wiese
JULY 18, 2011
Hey Jennifer,
JULY 18, 2011
Hey Jennifer,
Chris here, checking in. I just wanted to let you know that I've been working on my dental/medical paperwork. As of now I'm focusing on the dental because I got an x-ray and found a lot of cavities.
So my question is... How perfect should my teeth be? I want to get all the cavities filled and take care of my mouth, obviously, this was sort of a wake-up call, but I also don't want to spend all my money on dental costs, unless I absolutely have to, you know?
And how big of a deal is getting my wisdom teeth removed?
Just curious if maybe I should take care of the big cavities first, then treat the little ones with better brushing and flossing...
Also, school starts at the end of August. Can't wait!
- Chris Fryer
JULY 19, 2011
Hi Chris,
Nice to hear from you and hope that you are doing well. I am glad to hear that you are working on the medical paperwork. To get the best advice, I would advise you to contact medical directly and ask about dental procedures. You can reach the medical office at 1.800.424.8580, option 2, ext. 4049 or pre-serviceunit@peacecorps.gov
Cheers,
Jennifer
JULY 21, 2011
We rely on YOUR dentist to tell us how healthy your teeth and gums are. You will need to comply with the dentists recommendations. You may be sent to a country with little to no available dental care within a workable distance for quite some time. How your dentist determines your status is entirely up to that provider based on this type of criteria.
If you can't attend this meeting, it is essential that you meet with me in the week before classes. My office hours during that week will be: 3:00-4:00 Thursday (8/24) & 1:00 - 3:00 pm Friday (8/26). Please let me know if these times don't work for you and you'd like to meet at a different time.
We rely on YOUR dentist to tell us how healthy your teeth and gums are. You will need to comply with the dentists recommendations. You may be sent to a country with little to no available dental care within a workable distance for quite some time. How your dentist determines your status is entirely up to that provider based on this type of criteria.
If your dentists recommend it to be done, we will not second-guess the dentist.
- Pre-Service Unit
PS: Please use your full name and date of birth when communicating with us so we can locate the correct file. Thanks
AUGUST 1, 2011
Dear all, Welcome to the TESOL program at CSU Sacramento. We will be holding a mandatory orientation for all new students:
Date: August 24 (Wednesday)
AUGUST 1, 2011
Dear all, Welcome to the TESOL program at CSU Sacramento. We will be holding a mandatory orientation for all new students:
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Place: Calaveras 134
In the orientation, you will be able to: * get essential information on completing the program * meet TESOL faculty * find out about teaching opportunities while you're in the program * learn about opportunities for professional development * have your questions about the program answered
I'm looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks,
