Interview with David Wilcox, September 5, 2020

Partial Transcript: Today is September 5, 2020. This is Randolph Adams who served in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1969. And I'm interviewing David Wilcox who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from February 2018 to March of 2020 when he was evacuated due to COVID-19. In the Peace Corps, David served in the education sector.

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Miami. Wilcox's mother, a teacher, had wanted to join Peace Corps. It wasn't until Wilcox was an art student in San Francisco that he first met someone entering the Peace Corps. Later, Wilcox moved to New York City and worked in restaurants for a long time. Wilcox urged other young people to join the Peace Corps.

Keywords: College majors; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Influences; Jobs; Los Angeles (Calif.); Miami (Fla.); New York City (N.Y.); San Francisco (Calif.); Travel; Traveling; Undergraduate education

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Evacuation; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Volunteer workers in education

Partial Transcript: It was funny because the day I filled out my application for Peace Corps Dominican Republic, I'd say, a week before, a week prior to that, I had gotten fired from my job. I'd gotten fired. I was feeling, you know, feeling pretty low. And I was like, alright, you know, let's--you got time on your hands. Let's, uh, let's do this Peace Corps thing.

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox had been doing volunteer work for two years with two local educational organizations. This brought him into contact with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and AmeriCorps Volunteers. Wilcox had studied economics and history at the City College of New York and had talked to a Peace Corps recruiter there. Wilcox applied to the Peace Corps online rather impulsively after being fired from a job. Within a few weeks following his application, Wilcox had an interview and an invitation to serve in the Dominican Republic.

Keywords: AmeriCorps; Applying; City College of New York; College majors; Invitations; Jobs; Peace Corps interviews; Peace Corps recruiters; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; Undergraduate education; Waiting periods

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Emotions; Peace Corps (U.S.); Voluntarism

Partial Transcript: --choose the D.R.?

Segment Synopsis: Many people from the Dominican Republic lived in Wilcox's neighborhood. Wilcox had taken multiple vacations to the Dominican Republic and felt he had something to offer to help the people there.

Keywords: Traveling

Subjects: International travel; Peace Corps (U.S.)

Partial Transcript: What was your pre-service training like?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox's cohort of 39 trainees stayed with host families in Santo Domingo. Wilcox's cohort went through community based training. Wilcox's cohort had education trainees and community economic development trainees.

Keywords: Cultural training; Discrimination; History; Host families; Language training; Lectures; Orientation; Practice teaching; Safety and security training; San Cristobal (Dominican Republic); Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic); Site visits; Technical training; Training centers; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Peace Corps (U.S.); Tutors and tutoring; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What was the area where you were actually finally assigned?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox was assigned to a school at Las Taranas, a village of under 300 people. This area was very economically impoverished and was in sharp contrast to the amenities Wilcox was used to in the U.S. Initially, Wilcox was planning on staying in the Peace Corps for only one academic year.

Keywords: Amenities; Differences; Las Taranas (Dominican Republic); New York City (N.Y.); Peace Corps directors; Plans; Poverty; Quitting; Rural areas

Subjects: Emotions; History; Hurricanes; Lifestyles; Natural disasters; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Where did you live when you were in the batey?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox lived with a host family. Wilcox's host father was the pastor of the local church. After 4 months, Wilcox moved to his own apartment. Water, supplied by the government in storage tanks, was rationed. Wilcox bought a refrigerator and a 2 burner stove from Volunteers who were completing their service. In his apartment, Wilcox cooked for himself. The apartment had indoor plumbing but no running water.

Keywords: Amenities; Changes; Host family; Housing; Living alone; Outhouses; Running water

Subjects: Close of Service; Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What, what was a typical work day like for you?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox taught literacy skills in the kindergarten, first grade, third grade, and fourth grade classes. Each class had about 12 students. Wilcox also tutored students who needed extra help. With considerable help from people in the U.S., Wilcox was able to have a school library established. Wilcox taught 4 days a week. On Fridays, Wilcox would travel to the capital to fill out reports and touch base with other Volunteers. Wilcox worked to pass on teaching activities to his co-teachers. During his second year, Wilcox became more of a resource teacher with the expectation that the classroom teachers would implement some of the techniques which he had demonstrated.

Keywords: Books; Changes; Class sizes; Co-teachers; Excited; Expectations; Funding; Grants; Improvements; Literacy; Motivation; Paperwork; Problems; Resources; Skills; Supplies; Sustainability; Techniques; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Charities; Emotions; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Student activities; Teaching; Tutors and tutoring; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, were you still thinking of leaving at that point or were you now thinking of maybe staying a little longer?

Segment Synopsis: Shortly after Wilcox entered the Peace Corps, his girlfriend in the U.S. broke up with him and married someone else. Accordingly, Wilcox decided to complete his two years of service even though he found every day to be a struggle. For relief, Wilcox would go to one of the neighboring towns for access to the internet and other foods and activities. Near the end of his two years, Wilcox was considering extending.

Keywords: Amenities; Challenges; Changes; Close of Service; Cohorts; Extensions; Graduate schools; Relationships; Resilience; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; Site visits; Struggles; Syracuse University

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Universities and colleges; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What about, um, social relationships? How'd you get along with your teachers or other Dominicans in the area?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox felt respected within the community. Wilcox would mention any discipline problems to his host father who would then talk to the students' parents. Wilcox did not smoke, drink, or do drugs. Wilcox had been preceded in the village by another Volunteer who was highly regarded. Wilcox was also seen as making positive contributions to the community. Peace Corps planned to have a series of Volunteers serve in the same sites in the Dominican Republic to increase its impact.

Keywords: Contributions; Drinking; Expectations; Host fathers; Impact; Plans; Problems; Reputations; Resources; Students; Technology

Subjects: Dominican Republic; Evacuation; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What, what do you think, uh, were your main accomplishments as part of your service?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox is proud of the school library project. Wilcox also feels that his not early terminating was an accomplishment. Wilcox says that the longer he stayed at his work site, the less inclined he became to early terminate. Wilcox was willing to extend just for the summer in order to run another art focused camp for the children. But Peace Corps did not offer that option for extending.

Keywords: Acclimation; Changes; Choices; Close of Service; Extensions; Quitting; Relationships

Subjects: Acculturation; Evacuation; Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Student activities; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What do you take away from your service? What did you learn?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox was surprised at his own stamina, perseverance, and imagination. Wilcox feels he is now less sanctimonious and judgmental of people and of the capitalistic system. Wilcox came to admire the hard work done by the local people and their entrepreneurial spirit.

Keywords: Changes; Local people; Locals; Personal growth

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Small business--Developing countries; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Do you think Peace Corps has influenced your future in any way?

Segment Synopsis: Because of his Peace Corps service, Wilcox is studying for a master's degree in public administration rather than in journalism or business. Wilcox hopes to go into the Foreign Service. Wilcox was surprised by the obstacles which he was able to overcome during his Peace Corps service.

Keywords: Career paths; Changes; College majors; Columbia School of Journalism; Future plans; Graduate schools; Master's degrees; Preparation; University of Minnesota; Waiting periods

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Universities and colleges; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Do you feel your own culture and racial background shaped how you viewed your community?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox had lived in a Dominican neighborhood in the U.S. and had visited the Dominican Republic before his assignment. Racially, Wilcox blended in at his work site. So, Wilcox says he was not surprised by the conditions at the community of his assignment. Wilcox felt comfortable with the local culture. However, some local people had not met a black American before. Some people would assume that Wilcox was Haitian. Wilcox says of the roughly 170 Volunteers in the Dominican Republic, there was only one other black, male Volunteer. There were a number of black, female Volunteers. Wilcox did not have any racial problems with members of the Peace Corps community. Although, Wilcox feels he stood out a bit more as he was a few years older than many of the other Volunteers.

Keywords: African Americans; Assumptions; Black Americans; Blending in; Cohorts; Older volunteers; Site visits; Skin color; Traveling

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture; Dominican Republic; Evacuation; International travel; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Race relations; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Thinking of your own perception of your own identity before Peace Corps, uh, did service in your community or in the D.R. shift it in any way?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox says that meeting the challenges of Peace Corps service strengthened his existing feeling of confidence and self worth.

Keywords: Challenges; Self-confidence

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did your, um, race or religion or anything play a role in how others viewed you?

Segment Synopsis: Within the Peace Corps community, Wilcox did not sense any prejudice against him. Wilcox says the only racist incident he witnessed in the Dominican Republic was when some black, female Volunteers in his cohort were denied entrance to a club in Las Taranas because the doorman thought they were Haitian.

Keywords: Cohorts; Discrimination; Holidays; Las Taranas (Dominican Republic)

Subjects: Acculturation; Dominican Republic; Emigration and immigration; Immigrants; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Race relations; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: When did you even first hear about coronavirus?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox first heard of coronavirus in late January 2020. In February, Wilcox saw more reports about it online. In March, Wilcox first heard talk of Peace Corps evacuations. Wilcox had thought the Dominican Republic was relatively safe from coronavirus since it was on an island. But Wilcox had not considered the effect of the tourist industry.

Keywords: Awareness; Close of Service; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Disease transmission; Emails; Safety; Social distancing; Tourism; Tourists

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Dominican Republic; Evacuation; Hygiene; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Public health; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, what was your evacuation like? How did Peace Corps process you through those?

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox had been watching Twitter feeds announcing evacuations from other Peace Corps countries when he received email instructions to be at a hotel in Santo Domingo the next day. Wilcox packed what he could and informed his landlord and host family of his departure the next day. Wilcox returned items to his host family and gave them and other community members other possessions of his. Wilcox caught a bus into the hotel. Wilcox needed to arrange for housing given his abrupt return to the U.S. The day after his arrival in the capital, Wilcox was flown back to the U.S. Wilcox feels the Peace Corps staff did an incredible job during the evacuation process.

Keywords: Arrangements; Belongings; Buses; Cohorts; Coming home; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Family; Host family; Housing; Leaving; Lockdowns; Noncompetitive Eligibility; Paperwork; Peace Corps directors; Peace Corps staff; Plans; Returning; Schedules; Siblings; Social media; Travel bans; Traveling

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Dominican Republic; International travel; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: But, when I got back to the States, you know, um, when I--it was, uh, it was unreal.

Segment Synopsis: Wilcox found Miami desolate because of the pandemic. Wilcox felt anxiety and uncertainty returning to the U.S. Wilcox was able to resume residence in his New York apartment which had been sublet while he was overseas. Wilcox stayed in contact with others in his cohort via the internet. Wilcox applied to graduate school at Syracuse University on a whim. Wilcox wishes that he had joined Peace Corps earlier in life. Wilcox encourages anyone looking for a personal challenge to join the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Acceptance; Advice; Airports; Anxiety; Application process; Applications; Applying; Challenges; Choices; Cohorts; Coming home; Deaths; Differences; Expectations; Family; Fears; Future plans; Graduate schools; Impact; Miami (Fla.); New York City (N.Y.); Returning; Social media; Sustainability; Syracuse University; Transition periods; Uncertainty

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture shock; Emotions; Finance; Mental health; Peace Corps (U.S.); Stress (Psychology); Voluntarism; Volunteers