PHS Graduate Departs to Colombia With Peace Corps
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A 2018 Pittsfield High School graduate is dedicating her next couple of years to service in the Peace Corps.
Earlier this month, 24-year-old Kennedy Merriam departed to Colombia where she will serve as a co-English teacher for two years. She found her voice while studying Spanish in Pittsfield Public Schools and has made a career of it.
"I feel like right now, there is no better time than for me to give back and to learn from others, to work with others, and I think my biggest reason to serve would be to be able to grow myself with helping others but also having others help me grow and expand my knowledge, my beliefs," she said.
"It all narrows back to that word of giving back. I think every day I try to think of ways that I can give back, whether it be family, friends, or even strangers in our community. It's always in the back of my mind and I thought there was no other opportunity that I've found where it's that long of a time commitment to help others and be immersed in their culture like that."
Merriam is a former U.S. Youth Ambassador in the Department of the U.S. World Learning Program and graduated with a master of arts in Spanish at Bowling Green State University in Ohio last spring.
Her 13-year journey with language studies has taken her to Argentina, Spain, and now Colombia but it began in a sixth-grade classroom at Herberg Middle School. She struggled with a speech impediment growing up but learning a new language brought new-found confidence that continues today.
"Whenever I ever took that first class at Herberg in sixth grade, I remember that it just clicked learning a language other than English was like the first time in my life that I felt proud of something that I was doing," Merriam explained.
"I felt confident in something and still, to this day, I still feel like I almost take a different identity when I speak Spanish."
Coupled with her love for the language is a love of volunteerism.
After graduation, she returned to Berkshire County to figure out what was next. While teaching English was an option, the long-held dream of volunteering for the Peace Corps persisted.
Costa Rica originally stuck out as a viable option because of its mission statement that values the environment.
"I guess living in the Berkshires we're surrounded by or nature every day so I kind of was intrigued by that," Merriam said.
She applied for work in Costa Rica and successfully interviewed for the position, triggering the rigorous process of being legally and medically cleared. The plan took a spin when her peanut allergy posed a concern for this location.
"I say rigorous because it's so many tasks and they have to make sure that the volunteers are equipped to serve in the country that they pick for service," she explained.
"I had gotten through all my tasks, which took several, several months, and as soon as I finished everything up, I was legally cleared, they said that they couldn't find me a site placement in Costa Rica because of my peanut allergy."
The nearest hospital was hours away from and Merriam was devastated, especially after being accepted. Two days later, she got an email out of the blue from a country desk officer in Costa Rica delivering news that they would be able to place her in Colombia or the Dominican Republic.
"They said, 'Are you flexible or are you open to departing at a different date, or choosing one of these countries instead, because your heart was set on Costa Rica?' I wrote back and I said, 'At this point, I'm set on serving in any country because I just want to do Peace Corps,'" she said.
For the Dominican Republic, Merriam would have left in March 2025 but for Colombia, she was set to leave on Sept. 7. After getting input from loved ones and listening to her own intuition, she braced to start the process all over again and in August, received confirmation that all was clear.
"I got an email after many, many nights and days of waiting that I was cleared medically and legally and was given the green light that I was able to go and serve, and I really was jumping with joy, because I, was very, very devastated the first time," she said.
She even had to make a last-minute appointment to get her wisdom teeth out before departing.
"The past the past week, the anxiety and nerves have definitely kicked in. I, this whole summer have been, going up and down like the roller coaster of emotions, have been very, very excited. I still am super thrilled and excited," Merriam said about a week before leaving.
"The nerves and the anxiety are starting to kick in about leaving and I think the I'd say the root cause for the anxiety is the unknown of the experience."
She said her mother was the most supportive during this time, as joining the Peace Corps was also her dream when she was younger.
"So she's kind of like living through me, in a sense. My dream was actually one of her dreams and I think that's been the hardest thing about getting closer to leaving is that we are so close and there's been a lot of crying these past days and getting ready to leave each other because it will be the first time that will be apart for so long," she said, adding that she is prepping for video calls when possible to maintain contact with loved ones.
Peace Corps volunteers receive a monthly living allowance that covers food and other costs while staying with a host family. When friends asked Merriam about volunteering for the next two years, she explained that the experience is about much more than making money.
"I said that's really the why I'm doing this. It's because it's the 24/7 responsibility of giving back and I feel like my whole life I've been trying to give back to others. I volunteer so much and it is so fulfilling but I've never had the opportunity to work with others at this capacity," she explained, adding that the skills learned can be used for a future career.
For the first three months, she will be on the north end of Colombia training with other volunteers. Once the training is complete, the two years of service begin.
After service, volunteers are paid a resettlement of around $10,000 for their next venture.
Merriam is excited to receive the Peace Corps' intercultural competence and diversity training, which prepares volunteers to analyze their own reactions and world views while taking a look at their own identities and feelings.
She is also looking forward to learning the form of Spanish that Colombians use during her training, as it is an area that she hasn't studied linguistically.
"That excites me, that we have the opportunity with the other volunteers and staff members to improve our Spanish and learn the slang of the country from native speakers before jumping into the role of teaching,"
"Because I feel like it will be so so much more beneficial teaching the students if I'm familiar with slang and all of those parts of their culture and how to connect with them in the classroom."
She had been given a few details about her host family but was told to be prepared for larger families and smaller living spaces.
Merriam studied abroad and lived with a host family in Salta, Argentina, for a month in 2017 as part of the World Learning Program. As part of her master's program at Bowling Green, she studied abroad at Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, for one year in 2023 and lived with a host family.
She describes the year abroad as one of the best of her life, explaining "I went there and made such a close connection with my host family, I still talk to them today."
When thinking about returning to a foreign country, she is remembering things like her host mother in Spain reminding her to turn off the light switch. This is something she sometimes forgot in America but in other countries, utilities can be very expensive.
"It just didn't, I guess, cross my mind and I've been kind of thinking back to living in Spain because there will be new experiences in Colombia," she said.
Merriam has a bachelor of arts in Spanish, minoring in English as a second language with certification from Saint Anselm College, Manchester, N.H., and has worked as a student teacher.
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