Growing up in Hubbard Lake, we only had three TV stations, no 24-hour Cartoon Network back then. So most Saturday mornings you could find me munching my Coco Pebbles and getting my weekly cartoon allotment. Often, a PSA aired for the Peace Corps, it would dynamically transform my life’s path. It claimed to be “The toughest job you’ll ever love.” My kid brain thought, “What a dumb commercial. When I grow-up I want an easy job.” But somehow the idea ruminated through AHS graduation, a year at ACC, graduating from Ferris with a B.S. in Construction Management, and finally, after 10 years of working in my field, I sold my car, rented out my house, and joined Peace Corps.

I was sent to Cape Verde to teach at a vocational high school. I didn’t even know where Cape Verde was when my recruiter told me that’s where I’d serve. It is a cluster of 10 islands 450 miles off the coast of Senegal. The lack of freshwater sources and mountainous terrain make agriculture difficult. Other resources are scarce.

I’d never seen in the U.S. the levels of poverty I saw during my two years of Peace Corps service. It was eye-opening to see America from outside its borders. It made me understand the importance of U.S. relationships with other countries; stable economies and governments are less likely to produce bad actors to act against us. Peace Corps transformed me and my career path. In commemoration of that I want to share the joy of connecting across the only planet most of us will ever live on. Be curious Alpena. To those that will inevitably say we need to take care of our own first. I say, we can AND SHOULD do both! Americans are tougher in unity than in division.

TINA ROBBINS,

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and Alpena resident