Interview with Jane Willard, November 12, 2021
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Jane Willard served in Afghanistan, 1972-1974. She said she joined Peace Corps for an adventure, not to make a difference; indeed, her advice to aspirants is do it, but “without expectations that you’re going to save the world”. Jane was in the Teacher Corps Program, whereby Peace Corps paid for graduate school if the participant fulfilled a one-year teaching commitment stateside, which included language training (in Jane's case, the languages Dari and Pashto) and cultural training, before spending two years abroad. Technical training took place in-country in Kabul. Jane’s permanent site was Lashkar Gah(???). She taught technical English to male engineers and accountants at a desert construction camp, the “desert of death”, with 120 degree temperatures. A dampened bale of hay served as an evaporative cooler. In 1973 Jane lived through a coup in Afghanistan. She traveled widely during and after her service. She now is head of Minnesota RPCVs.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (U.S.) Afghanistan (Country of service) 1972-1974 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Afghanistan India Pakistan Sri Lanka Peace Corps (U.S.)--1970-1980Peace Corps (U.S.)—Management Peace Corps staff Regional conflict English (Language) Dari (Language) Pashto (Language) Language training Peace Corps-related medical issues Teacher CorpsInterview 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).
Willard, Jane Interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. 12 Nov. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Willard, J. (2021, November 12). Interview by J. L. Jenkins. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Willard, Jane, interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. November 12, 2021, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer 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/xt7czx2sbpvsb