Interview with Corey McEachern, June 9, 2022

Interview Summary

Corey McEachern Botswana 2011-2013 - Before serving in the Peace Corps, McEachern served in the Marine Corps; in both roles, his interest was in serving others and demonstrating his patriotism for his country. In Botswana, he gained sufficient proficiency in Sestwana that he wrote songs in the language while living and working in Soriltholo, a settlement of 600 people where there was no official governmental structure. McEachern integrated life skills, especially HIV-AIDS prevention and mitigation information, into the elementary school curriculum, in partnership with his counterpart, a teacher in the school. He conducted poetry nights for students, as well as created a soccer team and league for them. For the women in his community, as well in others, he led basic self-defense classes. McEachern’s legacy in his community is that he helped students find safe, condoned, avenues for self-expression, in addition to creating lasting personal relationships. As a result of his service, he says that he changed radically and that his experiences redirected his career

Interview Keyword

Botswana Marine Corps Patriotism Sestwana Life Skills HIV/AIDS Poetry nights Self-expression Career

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