Interview with Frank Connolly, May 13, 2021
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Frank Connolly served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon, from 1965 through 1967 in the School Construction Program. After graduating from Providence College, Connolly applied and was accepted to Navy Officer Candidate School (OCS). After seeing an ad for Peace Corps, he decided to turn down OCS and volunteer. Training for Connolly's group included six weeks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and six weeks in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Additional training was conducted in-country. Connolly and a fellow volunteer were assigned to the remote village of Mourindi, Nyanga Province. Their project was a cooperative venture with USAID, which furnished materials for school construction. Connolly lived in the village and organized local villagers to construct a four-classroom school. He had very little difficulty adapting to local conditions and culture. Two of Connolly's daughters followed his example and served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa. The interview discusses Connolly’s training, life and work in the village, culture shock upon returning to the U.S., and the influence of Peace Corps on the direction of his life afterward.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
Peace Corps (U.S.)--Gabon Providence College Schools Gabon French language Villages Africa, West Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Travel Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Nyanga Province (Gabon) Tchibanga (Nyanga, Gabon) Peace Corps (U.S.) United States. Agency for International Development Baton Rouge (La.) Saint Croix (United States Virgin Islands)Interview Rights
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Connolly, Frank Interview by Julius Sztuk. 13 May. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Connolly, F. (2021, May 13). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Connolly, Frank, interview by Julius Sztuk. May 13, 2021, 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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