Before critiquing thesis paragraphs and explaining the structure of rhetorical analysis to her students, Melissa Dale had been serving her country halfway across the globe in Bangladesh as a member of the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps, a government-run program dedicated to improving the quality of life in developing countries, helped steer Dale into room 407 of JHS and set her teaching career ablaze. 

Notably, it was Dale’s high school English teacher, a former Peace Corps volunteer herself, who had first raised the idea to her of joining the organization in class. 

“When I was a high school student, it never occurred to me that I would want to pursue an experience in the Peace Corps, but as I got older and was nearing graduation in college,  something about it appealed to me and I decided instead of immediately entering into my future career, that I wanted to do this and have a chance to travel, and to learn about other countries and cultures,” Dale stated. 

As a community and youth development volunteer, from 2003 to 2005, Dale taught high school and college-aged students English material that wasn’t available at their schools. By using a bike as her primary mode of transportation, Dale taught HIV and AIDS prevention courses as well as women’s health.

“As a Muslim country, girls, once they got to a certain age, didn’t have a lot of opportunities in some areas outside of the home, and so this was a chance where they got to come play sports, be creative, and have outlets that they didn’t necessarily otherwise have,” Dale stated. 

While the Peace Corps was a momentous journey, it also bore challenges along the way. 

“I missed my family, I didn’t see my parents for the two and a half years I was gone. For the first year and a half, I was placed at a site without another volunteer. So, just being the only American in the village where I was stationed was difficult,” stated Dale.

Nonetheless, the challenges Dale faced did not deter her from finding fulfillment in her time serving.

“I think that I really came into myself in terms of who I was and the things that were important to me. Because you don’t have anyone else, you really have to rely on yourself,” Dale said. 

Before joining the Peace Corps, Dale had an undergraduate degree in journalism and advertisement PR, but after returning from her mission in Bangladesh, her career journey took a detour. 

“I really found my passion for working with young people,” Dale said, “because before, I had never considered teaching to be something that I necessarily wanted to do. It wasn’t until I came back from Bangladesh that I got my master’s degree in teaching and decided that I wanted to become a teacher.” 

Dale said she would be more than happy to share her experience and help students make an educated decision. 

“Do it, it’s a kind of education that you can never get in a classroom. It lets you see the world,” Dale stated.