Interview with Mary Monica Kritz, December 14, 2023

Interview Summary

Abstract for Mary Monica Kritz Dominican Republic, 1962-1964 Mary Monica Kritz was raised on a dairy farm in Iowa County, Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in political science where she was active in student government and the 1960 election of JFK. She began outward bound training at Camp Crozier outside Arecibo, Puerto Rico, then trained at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. Mary was assigned to teach English at a grade school in Salcedo, Dominican Republic. She taught students directly and trained teachers as local TEFL instructors. She lived with a Dominican family and developed dysentery early on from drinking contaminated water. She used that experience to encourage the local population to boil their water, which contributed to health improvements in the community. Mary also tutored high school students and adults in English and organized a workshop attended by TEFL teachers from across the country. While on a vacation in Haiti, Mary had some challenges with the military that local Haitians helped ameliorate. She also experienced a scary military siege of Salcedo. After she left the D.R., her career focused on population and development in Latin America and Africa.

Interview Keyword

Dominican Republic education TEFL Spring Green Dodgeville family farming University of Wisconsin home economics political science international relations JFK P.C. application staging NYC Pre-Service Training Puerto Rico Arecibo Camp Crozier outward bound University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras de-selection Salcedo site Cibao Minerva Patria Maria Teresa Mirabal sisters Juaquin Balaguer President family home Maria Josefa Gomez school principal landlady Tinita cook Andy Hernandez Country Director Hal Meyerson Ag PCV sickness Dr. Trumper Salcedo description grade school daily schedule tutoring San Cristobal workshops Girl Scout Troop Steve Honore project manager Robert Statin Country Director Alan Randall forestry staff transportation Harvey Hartley PCV Moca died Robert Zech PCV murdered military San Francisco de Macoris D.R. student grants Haiti vacation Papa Doc military episode memorable moment Salcedo military siege friendships coming home Overseas Education Fund League of Women Voters Wellesley College Accion, Caracas University of Wisconsin Ph.D. sociology demography Purdue University Rockefeller Foundation Cornell University research international migration Nigerian couple reproduction International Union for the Scientific Study of Population Secretary-General and Treasurer.

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