Interview with Leslie Ekstrom, September 7, 2022

Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project

Interview Summary

Nigeria, 1963-1965, TESL Leslie Simmonds Ekstrom was raised in California. Her father imbued in her an interest in science, nature and foreign cultures. Family camping in California wilderness and regular outdoor excursions developed her taste for adventure. As a sophomore at U of California, she was selected for a summer project of travel throughout India, interacting with college students there. To apply for PC as a married couple, she and Jim Ekstrom married in their senior year at UC Berkeley and sent in their application. They were invited to Nigeria to Teach English as a Second Language (TESL). Posted to the bush town of Funtua, they taught in a small secondary school. She presented a description of her small town and school, including a daily teaching schedule of English, biology, and after-school Spanish. Additional activities included establishing a school library, organizing student clubs: Chefs Club and Spanish Club, and prepping students for a regional Quiz Show. (They won!) She had a summer project at the town’s dispensary, exposing her to local health issues, especially those of women. She was fascinated to learn about Nigerian and Muslim culture and recognized the value of the Peace Corps in exposing Volunteers to other ways of life, and respecting the differences.

Interview Accession

2022oh1675_pcrv0645

Interviewee Name

Leslie Ekstrom

Interviewer Name

Randolph A. Adams

Interview Date

2022-09-07

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Ekstrom, Leslie Interview by Randolph A. Adams. 07 Sep. 2022. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Ekstrom, L. (2022, September 07). Interview by R. A. Adams. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Ekstrom, Leslie, interview by Randolph A. Adams. September 07, 2022, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





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