Interview with William Lutwick, July 29, 2021

Interview Summary

William Lutwick recalls that upon earning his MBA he wasn’t ready for corporate work or Viet Nam, which led him to serving in the Peace Corps in Fiji 1968-1970. There he worked for Fiji’s Marketing Department in Suva, Fiji’s capital. He describes developing programs for internal and international markets, including oranges for Fiji and handicrafts for export. He reports having a comfortable house, with urban amenities nearby. Will relates his life took a dramatic turn when he fell in love with a local woman of Indian descent. They kept their relationship secret, but it ultimately came out and led to marriage and returning home early. He recalls how tough it was for his wife in Fiji and America. He reflects on how the Peace Corps helped shape his career and how his marriage inadvertently helped him achieve Peace Corps’ Third Goal, as did his 2012 Peace Corps memoir, Dodging Machetes.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S) Fiji (Country of service) 1968-70 (Date of service) Viet Nam Molokai, Hawaii (Location of Training) Lautoka (Fiji’s second largest city) Suva (Capital of Fiji) Viti Levu Island Rotuma Island, Fiji Tapa Cloth (Handicrafts export product) Fiji (As a British Colony Melanesian culture VISTA (U.S. program) Oakland, CA (City Government).

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