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How has the Boren Fellowship experience influenced your current work?
I work in Media Relations at the Peace Corps but was never a Volunteer. My Boren fellowship in Senegal gave me the chance to experience what Peace Corps Volunteers go through 鈥 sort of. My home base was Dakar and I traveled throughout the country whereas many Volunteers live in the countryside. I mainly studied French during my fellowship; I had already worked professionally for over 10 years at that point and felt the opportunity to study French while living in West Africa was an opportunity I鈥檇 most likely never have again.
One of the most important lessons I learned during the Boren was: moments captured in academic texts vs. broader context and real life. If you only read about 鈥減oor African women鈥 during your studies, you imagine that all African women are beaten down and have no power. While I don鈥檛 claim to know every woman on the continent of Africa, nor is Senegal representative of all African nations, I saw women who were strong, fierce even. They supported their communities, ran successful businesses from their home and spoke several languages. Study is always important, but we must also experience life firsthand.
Without the Boren Fellowship, I don鈥檛 know if I would have entered government, and I鈥檓 so glad I have. Before the fellowship, I worked in Media Relations for international NGOs. Now I still work in international and press relations 鈥 but for the United States government. I have significant professional experience in the public and nonprofit sectors. The Boren Fellowship gave me the chance to broaden my knowledge, skills and understanding.