RPCV Profile: Sara Boro

Sara Boro serves on the NCPCA Steering Committee as Treasurer. She meticulously tracks our income and expenditures, but she is also an indispensable database guru, website wiz, and a creative force behind everything from tee-shirt designs to fun NCPCA events. Sara served in Guatemala as a Youth Development Volunteer from 2013 to 2015.

Sara, can you tell us a little bit about your service? 
I served as a Youth in Development (YiD) volunteer in Peace Corps Guatemala. As a YiD volunteer, I trained youth in life skills including self-esteem, values, leadership, teamwork, prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual and reproductive health. I also coordinated and collaborated with service providers to train them to work positively with youth and create youth support systems in the community. I was assigned to work primarily at a Health Center in an Espacio Amigable or “Friendly Space,” which is basically a youth center. At the Espacio Amigable, we formed a leadership group called Jóvenes en Acción or “Youth in Action” which was composed of in and out of school youth. My counterpart and I met with the Jóvenes en Acción twice a month to train them in leadership skills and worked with them to plan events and activities for other young people in the community.

What was your biggest challenge and what did you love most about your experience?
One of the challenges I faced as a Peace Corps volunteer is not seeing results of the work I did in my project right away. Did I prevent a teenage pregnancy? Did someone have higher self-esteem because of a session I gave? These are questions I will probably never know the answers to. However, the most rewarding part of my service was the relationships I formed with my host family, work partners and youth in my community. Goals two and three of Peace Corps revolve around sharing American culture and the culture of peoples served. Even if I was not able to see the results of my work within my project framework, I was able to form meaningful relationships with Guatemalans, learn about their culture, and share my culture with them. Some of my best memories in site are trick-or-treating with kids on Halloween or dancing in the traditional costume dance during my town fair.

Me (left) after participating in the Baile de Disfraces (costume dance) during my town’s annual fair.

If you had to give a piece of advice to someone thinking about applying to PC or getting ready for staging, what would you say?
If I had to give a piece of advice to someone thinking about applying to PC or getting ready for PC, it would be to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. So many parts of the Peace Corps experience can be very uncomfortable, but it is in those experiences that you learn and grow the most. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes in the language you are learning, people won’t really think that your dad paints pigs (instead of cars) or that you put tampons in your ears (instead of ear plugs). Don’t be afraid to accept an invitation to a wedding, lunch, or town dance. You may just end up meeting a new friend. Don’t be afraid to try something new. It may be uncomfortable teaching a Zumba class when you have never danced before or teaching middle school students about changes in the body during puberty, but do it anyways! I have always been a somewhat introverted person, but working my way through these uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations has helped me become more confident and willing to take on anything that comes my way.

Huge thanks to Sara for sharing her experiences and for all she does for the NCPCA!