Candice Lanette, a 2010 graduate of ESF, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and departed for Zambia Feb. 3 to begin training as a rural aquaculture extension agent volunteer.
Lanette will live and work at the community level to make a difference by improving rural fishing practices and increasing production yields. Lanette said she will miss her sister, Rachael, and her dog, Janey, but she is looking forward to “the idea of giving back, learning to live with less, traveling abroad and learning another language.”
Lanette is the daughter of Marie Lanette and John Lyons and a graduate of Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pa. She then attended the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 2010. She has also worked as an organic farmer in several states.
“My college provided me with a global approach to environmental issues with a focus on local level initiatives,” Lanette said.
During the first three months of her service, Lanette will live with a host family in Zambia to learn the local language and integrate into the local culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills that will help her make a lasting difference, Lanette will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Zambia where she will serve for two years.
Lanette will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Zambia and help Lanette develop leadership, technical and cross-cultural skills that will give her a competitive edge when she returns home. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens well-positioned for professional opportunities in today’s global job market.
“I hope to gain a better understanding of another culture. I also hope to gain a greater understanding of myself as an individual,” she said.
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