Interview with Jessica Robey, August 14, 2020

Interview Summary

Jessica Robey was a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica from 2015-2018. She joined the Peace Corps after serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer for two summers while in college and two years after college. She discusses teaching literacy skills in elementary schools in two communities, including using Jamaican songs with positive messages, and her work as a Volunteer Leader in her third year. She praises Peace Corps training and staff support in moving her from one site to another because of violence in her first community. She discusses close friendships she made with her host families and fellow volunteers and the support she got from fellow volunteers upon her return to the U.S. She speaks movingly about coming out during training, homophobic attitudes in Jamaica and her interactions with the Jamaican gay community. She also talks about how she learned to be more resilient and comfortable with herself and how Peace Corps broadened her perspective about the U.S. and the world.

Interview Keyword

Jamaica (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education 2015-2018 (Date of service) LGBTQIA in Peace Corps Violence Positive role of local Peace Corps staff Interpersonal relationships Impact on her outlook on life LGBTQ+ Diversity in the Peace Corps Coming out (Sexual orientation) Gay community Homophobia Homosexuality--Social aspects Sexual minorities--Identity Sexual orientation Sexual minority community Culture shock Queer people Queer women

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Jamaica Culture shock Culture Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Acculturation Communication and culture Travel Voluntarism Volunteer workers in education Volunteers Teachers Teaching

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