Interview with Victoria Kaytlan Filimoehala-Egan, September 19, 2020
Project: Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Victoria Kaytlan Filimoehala-Egan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji from 2019 to 2020 in the Youth in Development Program. She was evacuated in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. Victoria is a Pacific Islander of Tongan descent, with close ties to the Pacific Islander/Tongan community in San Fransisco. Her aunt served in Peace Corps Fiji from 2000 to 2003, which was partly inspiration for Victoria’s decision to join. Fijian language and culture training was conducted at Cautata village, where she lived with a host family. Her posting was in Vunidogoloa village on the island of Vanua Levu. Victoria taught healthy living to grades 7 and 8, as well as co-teaching primary students. She also assisted with Girl Scouts, and a youth club in the village. Her service was suspended after five months due to COVID-19 evacuation. The interview discusses her motivations for joining, training, village life, and the unique experience of serving as a Pacific Islander.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Fiji (Country of service) 2019-2020 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth in Development Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV) Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020 Fijian (Language) Diversity in the Peace Corps Pacific Islanders Tongan Americans Cautata (Training site) Vunidogoloa (Volunteer site) #covid19Interview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Fiji Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji. 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 Volunteers Minorities Race relationsInterview Rights
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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.
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Filimoehala-Egan, Victoria Kaytlan Interview by Julius Sztuk. 19 Sep. 2020. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Filimoehala-Egan, V.K. (2020, September 19). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Filimoehala-Egan, Victoria Kaytlan, interview by Julius Sztuk. September 19, 2020, Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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