I am three weeks away from my departure and it has me thinking of the time and effort it took to get to this point. The PC application process was a marathon for me. The last year was full of tweak-outs as I managed doctors appointments, personal statements and the medical portal UI.

Throughout that year, I was assigned & reassigned to three different countries. I also got very comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. I let go of my ‘suffer twice’ mentality. Even though the process was stressful, I realized I was content to wait for the right opportunity.

Here is my timeline from start to finish for any future volunteers. The medical conditions that led to my reassignment were food allergies and asthma. Specifically, I have a peanut allergy and carry an EpiPen. If it looks grim, stick with it!

SONG OF THE DAY

• April 1st, 2024

  submitted my application for kosovo CED

  • april 22nd, 2024

    APPLICAtion placed under review

• june 6th, 2024

  Offer to interview extended

  • June 18th, 2024

    Interview date

• June 26th, 2024

  Invitation to serve in kosovo as a ced volunteer, accepted

• August 20th, 2024

  Medically denied from Kosovo due to peanut allergy

  • Sep 30th, 2024

    Entered into reassignment pool.

    Told I was medically ELIGIBLE for Armenia, Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, eastern CARIBBEAN, el salvador, guyana, kyrgyz republic, moldova, mozambique, panama and paraguay. I indicated I was interested in moldova.

• October 9th, 2024

  offer extended for moldova ced, accepted

• November 8th, 2024

  Medically denied from moldova due to peanut allergy

  • NOvember 11th, 2024

    Began medical appeal for Moldova

    Entered reassignment pool for a second time

• november 19th, 2024

  RECEIVED my third invitation. I was offered placement in three countries: YD armenia, CED Kyrgyzstan & TEFL Eastern Caribbean. I indicated I was interested in armenia

• December 11th, 2024

  determined medically eligible for armenia, Invitation Extended, Accepted

  Medical Appeal for moldova dropped

• January 16th, 2025

  Medically Cleared for armenia

  • January 22nd, 2025

    Legally Cleared for armenia

• March 8th, 2025

  Staging in Philadelphia

  DTw>PHL

• March 11th, 2025

  Flight to Armenia

  PHL>JFK>CDG>EVN