Interview with Hedy Pajonk, May 22, 2021
Project: Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Hedy Pajonk served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana from 2017 to 2020. Prior to Peace Corps, Hedy had a career in accounting and real estate. She is a life-long gardener, especially enjoying growing vegetables to share with neighbors. Realizing she accomplished everything she wanted in her career, she was investigating volunteer opportunities when Peace Corps presented itself in a Google search as the unexpected answer to a long-held desire to participate in agricultural development work. Hedy’s training cohort was Agricultural 19. Her pre-service training in language, culture, and technical skills was conducted in Aniyanasin in Ghana’s Central Region. Her volunteer sites were the villages of Tewbabi and Anyinasin in the Bono Region working in local agricultural training. Among many projects, Pajonk enjoyed the challenges and success of training young villagers in beekeeping. Pajonk was three months into her third-year extension of service when she was evacuated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Ghana (Country of service) 2017-2020 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Agriculture Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV) Evacuation Language training Training Cultural training Diversity in the Peace Corps Older Americans Anyinasin (Training City) Tewbabi (Work site) Abisase (Work site) Beekeeping Shimer Great Books School (university)Interview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana Ghana 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 VolunteersInterview Rights
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Pajonk, Hedy Interview by Cal Mann. 22 May. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Pajonk, H. (2021, May 22). Interview by C. Mann. Peace Corps: COVID-19 Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Pajonk, Hedy, interview by Cal Mann. May 22, 2021, 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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