Major Changes Ahead

Peace Corps is a unique federal agency in that it limits staff members to only five consecutive years of employment, at which time their contract ends.  On March 2nd, Tori will have spent five years working as a Peace Corps recruiter, during which time she ranked as the top recruiter in terms of total applicant nominations.  I'm very proud of her for being such an enthusiastic and personable face of the Peace Corps and I will really miss working with her.

One week later, I will finish nearly four and a half years with Peace Corps and will move on to a new position as the public affairs officer for the National Park Service.  I'm really excited about my new job and I can't imagine a position that I would be equally excited about, but I do admit that I have a lot of sadness about leaving the Peace Corps.  I've been working for Peace Corps, either as a volunteer or a staff member, for 10 of the last 14 years.  I love the agency and it's hard for me to imagine working anywhere else.

Though I probably wouldn't leave if it weren't for the five-year-rule, I know I will have lots of new and challenging experiences in my next job that will give me opportunities to grow professionally and personally.  So it's kind of good to get kicked out the door, I suppose.  One of the biggest changes will be adjusting to being an outsider instead of an insider.  Again, lots of opportunities for growth and new learning.  I'm excited to work on some meatier policy issues such as land use, development, and the environment that I've long been interested in but haven't worked on in a professional capacity.

On top of these professional changes, we'll also be moving to a new community AND Tori will start her new job as a stay-at-home mom.  She has some trepidation about this change (I would personally have so much trepidation I might run for the hills), so she's continuing to keep her eyes open for another job that would be as family-friendly as our Peace Corps jobs have been.  But, given the economy, this will be challenging and so she's easing into her stay-at-home momhood by spending the first two months in Costa Rica with Grandma Linda.  This will give her the chance to have her mom's help and hopefully really get to connect with our kids in a fun and more stress-free environment (the beach!).  More on that later.

As you can see, we've got some major changes ahead!