Interview with Jerry Koontz, July 26, 2022
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Jerry Koontz served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in education programs Tunisia from 1987-89 and Namibia from 1990-93. He tells stories about applying for the Peace Corps, being assigned to the Marshall Islands, reassigned to Tunisia, sent for teacher training in Morocco, living in a small town on the coast while teaching at an agricultural college, serving as a volunteer Liaison visiting volunteers throughout Tunisia and then teaching at the Linus Shashipapo Secondary School in Namibia right after independence. While he loved Tunisia his experience didn’t meet his expectations, he thrived in the scarcity environment in Namibia. He discusses his medical evacuation from Namibia, surgery in Washington DC for removal of a mass caused by schistosomiasis and return to finish his three months of teaching. He says that Peace Corps made him more adaptable and resilient and helped him discover who is. He opened up to others and formed deep friendships because he learned to listen.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
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Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (US) Tunisia (Country of Service) Education (Peace Corps program) 1987-89 Namibia (Country of Service) Education (Peace Corps program)1990-93 Peace Corps medical support and evacuation attrition among Peace Corps volunteers Tunis (capital of Tunisia where he was based in the second year Hergla (Tunisian town in which he lived during the first year) Botswana (where training for Namibia was conducted) Rundu (town in northern Namibia where he trained) Kavango Province next to the Okavango River near where he served.Interview Rights
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Koontz, Jerry Interview by Evelyn Ganzglass. 26 Jul. 2022. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Koontz, J. (2022, July 26). Interview by E. Ganzglass. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Koontz, Jerry, interview by Evelyn Ganzglass. July 26, 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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