CEE Senior, Breanna Kazmierczak, Accepts Offer to Join the Peace Corp

Environmental Engineering Senior, Breanna Kazmierczak, who will be graduating in June, has accepted an offer to join the Peace Corps in Tonga for the next 2 years. She will be filling the role of an English Literacy Facilitator in the Pacific Island nation.  When asked why she applied to the Peace Corps, she responded, “I initially applied to the Peace Corps because I have a passion for being overseas and experiencing new cultures.  The Peace Corps offered me the opportunity to be immersed in the rich and beautiful culture of Tonga”.  What does she most look forward to about Tonga? “I can’t wait to use my skills and passions to be a volunteer in Tonga and fill a deep need in the community. I will be working in a rural school teaching English and leading environmental extracurricular activities to enhance English learning”.

The Peace Corps sends the best and brightest Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world.  Established on March 1, 1961, the Peace Corps traces it’s roots to a time of idealism, when then-Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country by living and working in some of the most remote corners of the world.  To date, the Peace Corps has sent over 220,000 Americans to 141 countries, currently there are 6,919 volunteers and trainees in 63 host countries.  In 2015, 3% of all volunteers were in the Pacific Islands.

Tonga, known as the “Friendly Islands,” is a Polynesian kingdom of more than 170 islands, many uninhabited, most lined in white beaches and coral reefs and covered with tropical rainforest. The main island, Tongatapu, is protected by lagoons and limestone cliffs. It’s home to the laid-back, rural capital of Nuku'alofa, as well as beach resorts, plantations and the Ha'amonga trilithon, a Stonehenge-like coral gate from the 1200s. The Peace Corps has been in Tonga since 1967 and has had 1,650 volunteers go there.  Breanna will be joining 41 volunteers in Tonga.

Congratulations Breanna!

Information about the Peace Corps – Tonga

McCormick News Article