From The Hill to the Hills to that Shining City Upon a Hill

It was a warm August morning, and I found myself on The Hill at Norwich University . I was 18 years old, standing at parade rest, with my nose buried in the Cadet Handbook, struggling to memorize the first sentence of the Norwich Cadet's Creed.

I believe that the cardinal virtues of the individual are courage, honesty, temperance and wisdom; and that the true measure of success is service rendered–to God, to Country, and to Mankind.

My mind drifted momentarily, and I thought a lot about the last few words of that first sentence… "the true measure of success is service rendered–to God, to Country, and to Mankind," and then I focused deeper…" to Country and to Mankind."

While on The Hill at Norwich, I learned the necessity of grit, determination, self-discipline, and leadership. I was being prepared for a journey -  for me and others- a lifelong journey of service.

A few years before my time on The Hill, Norwich's president, Maj. Gen. W. Russell Todd (USA Ret). said – "People feel the Peace Corps and military service are diametrically opposed, but I don't find this incompatible at all. There are two ways of avoiding war. The first is to make friends, and the second is to be strong enough that nobody wants to attack you. And we believe that everybody ought to have an obligation to serve their country, whether it's in a form of national service like the Peace Corps, or in the armed forces."

Norwich and the Peace Corps knew the value of serving one's country and started the Peace Corps Preparatory Program.

The Peace Corps and our nation need individuals with a high-risk tolerance who embrace discomfort and are open to attempting the impossible. The Peace Corps seeks these exceptional individuals not just to help communities across the world but also to help American communities, businesses, and government upon the volunteers' return. National service benefits the individual and America.  

In the late 1990's, I found myself climbing up a group of small hills surrounding a small town in northeastern Romania. I wasn't alone. I was joined by several high school students and a few friends, and we laughed and joked in English and Romanian as we climbed the hills. We reached the top of a hill and sat down to relax and watch the sunset. I was just a few days away from my Close of Service date with the Peace Corps, and I would be leaving my students and friends. It didn't escape notice that as the sun was setting in Romania, it was just rising in America, and as we sat on that hill, we exchanged memories of our last two years together. Their town had become our town…my town. I wasn't just an American; I was an American that lived and worked and struggled with them. I ate their food, I cooked their food, I spoke their language, I pulled water from a well alongside them, I shivered in cold apartments with them, I washed my clothes in buckets, I taught them English in drafty sub-freezing classrooms, and I cared deeply for them.  

I was asked about my future in America and asked if I would ever return to our town. I was asked if I would tell other Americans about our poor little town. I was asked if I would forget them.

My throat tightened, and my eyes watered as I assured them that I wouldn't. They assured me that they would never forget our time together.  

"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind, it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace…" President Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation January 11, 1989.

It has been said that the Peace Corps has been one of the most effective forms of American soft power. We need to remember this over the next several weeks and months during this time of transition. We need to think not about the next 4 or 10 years but the next 50 years and how changes in our soft-power positioning might be received in America and worldwide.

We need to fully understand the value of an American Volunteer, willing to leave their life behind and start over in another country, living side-by-side with their host country citizens working to improve the lives of their fellow humans…not just for a few years, but for generations.

Then, we need to consider the value of that American returning home with a changed, more powerful perspective. This American volunteer is now truly an American – they've engaged with the world, shared their knowledge, and grown – and are now ready to share the world with their fellow Americans.  

I'm not done with the Peace Corps. I remain committed to the organization's mission. I am currently participating in a pilot program as a Virtual Volunteer, providing weekly English language instruction to Ukrainian high school students. Before our meetings, I ask the teachers how the students are doing. I often receive a quick update on the frequency of air-raid interruptions over the past week. As I welcome the students into our virtual classroom and see their bright, smiling faces, I hope that our brief time together brings a small level of normalcy to their chaotic lives and that they might remember their brief encounter with an American as they move through life.