May 25, 2019
Lindsey Graham, 22, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Ecuador on May 27, 2019, to begin training as a Health and Wellness Promoter volunteer.
“Joining the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine since I first learned about the program in high school. I am very interested in the opportunity to serve on a community level while being immersed in the culture. I also was attracted to the opportunity as it presented a unique was to positively represent the United States internationally,” said Graham of her desire to join the Peace Corps.
Graham is the daughter of Gene and Lori Graham of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and is a graduate of Lee’s Summit North High School in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She attended University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in international peace studies. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, she worked as a paralegal for Legal Aid of Western Missouri, a head team advisor for National Student Leadership Conference, an intern for the University of Missouri Health Care Infection Control Department.
During the first three months of her service, Graham will live with a host family in Ecuador to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist her community, Graham will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Ecuador, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.
“I hope to improve my Spanish languages skills as well as learn about strategies of public health and how to effectively implement those on a community level,” said Graham. “Having studied Spanish for many years, I was interested in serving in a Spanish-speaking country. Having previously spent time volunteerig in Peru, I was excited about the opportunity to return to South America and experience a new country I had not been to,” added Graham.
Graham will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Ecuador and help Graham develop leadership, technical and cross-cultural skills that will give her a competitive edge when she returns home. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens well-positioned for professional opportunities in today’s global job market.
Graham joins the 122 Missouri residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 3,593 Missouri residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. The University of Missouri ranked No. 23 among large schools on the Peace Corps’ list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2019. There are 37 Tigers currently volunteering in countries around the world.
