Interview with Charles McKinney, August 17, 2020
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Charles McKinney was a Peace Corps Volunteer in (North) Macedonia from 2015 to 2017 as an English Education volunteer, and a Response Volunteer in Rwanda in 2018 as a university TEFL lecturer. He talks about his pathway to the Peace Corps and his love of (North) Macedonia and its people. He participated in many secondary projects, such as coordinating the English Essay Challenge, and a variety of summer camps (domestically and globally); and he traveled extensively and frugally both during his tenure and after. He maintained a blog via Linkedin while also getting articles published on other digital platforms and dreams of publishing a short e-book about his adventures. Charles reflects on his experiences in both countries as an African American volunteer, Peace Corps’ powerful impact on his life, and the importance of maintaining a flourishing Peace Corps agency in a post-COVID global society.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
North Macedonia (Country of service) Macedonia (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Peace Corps Response Job: Education Diversity in the Peace Corps Impact of Peace Corps Secondary projects Rwanda (Country of service) 2015-2017 (Date of service) Response Volunteers 2018 (Date of service) University lecturers Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) African Americans Black AmericansInterview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--North Macedonia North Macedonia Peace Corps (U.S.)--Rwanda Rwanda 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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McKinney, Charles Interview by Candice Diehl Wiggum. 17 Aug. 2020. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
McKinney, C. (2020, August 17). Interview by C. D. Wiggum. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
McKinney, Charles, interview by Candice Diehl Wiggum. August 17, 2020, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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