Interview with Marya Nowakowski, September 15, 2020
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Marya Nowkowski grew up in the outdoors of Eastern Washington State. She graduated with an interdisciplinary degree in environmental studies from Evergreen State College and received a master’s degree from Washington State University in plant ecology. She then worked for the Forest Service. She had a number of professors who were RPCVs and saw ads in a forestry journal on the Peace Corps. Marya was 30 when she joined the Peace Corps with her spouse. Pre-service Training was critical in introducing her to tropical forestry. She was assigned to an NGO, Pastoral Social, affiliated with the Catholic church in Las Matas de Farfan. Her counterpart was eager and energetic, working six days a week. They worked with farmers and trained farmer leaders to sustain their work of reforestation, soil conservation, and creating a revenue stream. She was able to get farmers certification in using forest products to generate an income.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Oregon Evergreen State College Environmental Studies Dominican Republic (Country of service) 1987-1990 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Agriculture Washington State University Plant ecology Forest Service Tropical forestry Soil conservation Las Mata de Farfan (Assignment site) Catholic Church Counterparts Farmer leaders Gender Certification Tree species: Galena, Yucaina, Tamarine Forestry Sector Diversity in the Peace CorpsInterview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Dominican Republic Acculturation Communication and culture Culture shock Culture Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Volunteers Travel Voluntarism Volunteer workers in horticultureInterview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
Nowakowski, Marya Interview by Randolph A. Adams. 15 Sep. 2020. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Nowakowski, M. (2020, September 15). Interview by R. A. Adams. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Nowakowski, Marya, interview by Randolph A. Adams. September 15, 2020, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt71g67516wfg