Interview with Debra Schweitzer, May 10, 2006
Project: Peace Corps: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (Kentucky) Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Debra Schweitzer (Mali, 1993-1996; Business Program) discusses studying business at Michigan State University and applying her studies as a small enterprise development volunteer in Mali. Schweitzer describes staging and training, which included health and small business development components. The interviewee details the living conditions she found while living in the Sikasso region of Mali and how she fell sleep at her village welcome party. Schweitzer provides an overview of her job responsibilities in her position as a small business development facilitator. Schweitzer discusses being viewed as a “man” because of her job, and discusses other cultural differences, such as food. Schweitzer reflects upon her travels during her Peace Corps service. Interactions and relationships that Schweitzer developed with Malians are considered. Additionally, the interviewee talks of extending her time in the Peace Corps for a third year to assist with an elephant conservation and tourism project. Schweitzer then recalls her travels after completing her Peace Corps service and her difficulties with readjusting to American life. The interviewee relays how her time spent in the Peace Corps impacted Mali, and how she was affected personally by service. Schweitzer also explains how the her Peace Corps experience influenced her family, career, and worldview. Schweitzer then provides her opinion on the impact of the Peace Corps as a whole and speculates upon the future role of the Peace Corps. To conclude the interview, Schweitzer articulates some of the most interesting stories from her Peace Corps Mali experience.Interview Accession
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Schweitzer, Debra Interview by Jack Wilson. 10 May. 2006. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Schweitzer, D. (2006, May 10). Interview by J. Wilson. Peace Corps: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (Kentucky) Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Schweitzer, Debra, interview by Jack Wilson. May 10, 2006, Peace Corps: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (Kentucky) Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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