Interview with Sophie Mills, August 17, 2020
Project: Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Sophie Mills earned a B.A. in political science from Davidson University. She was interested in 21st century global challenges, e.g. climate change and the need for strong international cooperation and community. Mills applied for and was accepted to Peace Corps in Albania for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). Her application process lasted eleven months because of extensive medical assessments. Pre-service training (PST) followed the community-based training model. General training was held in Lezhe and small group community training in Gjader. Mills’s host family was very welcoming. Talking with current Volunteers raised a question of the sustainability of Peace Corps support for the country as many Albanians felt their only hope for a future was to leave Albania. Training was cut short due to the restrictions required to deal with COVID-19. The evacuation began earlier than most. The training class was sworn in as Volunteers. Host families formed a send-off caravan to bring Volunteers to their consolidation site.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Davidson University Application process Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) Albania (Country of service) Community-based training Lezhe, Albania Gjader, Albania Host family Sustainability Corruption Migration Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Relationships Evacuation #covid19 Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education 2020 (Date of service) Gjadër, AlbaniaInterview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Albania Albania COVID-19 (Disease) Acculturation Communication and culture Culture Culture shock Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Lifestyles Manners and customs Voluntarism VolunteersInterview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
Mills, Sophie Interview by Randolph A. Adams. 17 Aug. 2020. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Mills, S. (2020, August 17). Interview by R. A. Adams. Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Mills, Sophie, interview by Randolph A. Adams. August 17, 2020, Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7b1kjgkvvp3