IU grad returns from The Gambia after Peace Corps service

Todd Diemer, an IU graduate, spent more than two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in The Gambia and replicating the local holidays, but now Diemer has returned to the States to celebrate in his own home.

Peace Corps volunteers in The Gambia focus on introducing information communication technology to both teachers and students, as well as setting up basic computer labs. Diemer was recruited as an information technology volunteer, and he spent most of his time working in high schools teaching students computer skills.

Diemer joined the Peace Corps upon graduating from IU. He was heavily influenced by his father, who was a Peace Corps volunteer during the ’70s, and by the surroundings in his hometown, Bloomington.

“Because Bloomington is so diverse and you have people from all over, you are exposed to a lot of different cultures,” Diemer said. “Spending a lot of time there growing up, it really helps lower your fear of something new.”

Rose Galer, Peace Corps campus recruiter for IU, credits the decision of many IU graduates to join the Peace Corps to the environment in which they grew up.
“Maybe it’s just within the Midwest hard-work ethic that’s bringing these students to want to do this,” Galer said.

After college, Diemer had to make the difficult transition from college life to the real world as all graduates do, but in a developing nation thousands of miles away from home.

“It was definitely a good way to become an adult and sort of grow up a little bit,” Diemer said. “It was stronger in this environment because you were thrown out into a stressful situation, and you had to cope with it pretty quickly or you would just fail.”

Despite the stress, Diemer was able to transition to his new life with the help of his host family. Throughout his stay, Diemer said he was able to build strong relationships with the family.

“I’m pretty close with them. It’s something that I wanted to have going into it,” Diemer said.

In addition to his host family, Diemer also had other Peace Corps volunteers he could turn to for help and support. While Diemer worked in The Gambia, there were 100 volunteers in the country.

“You always have people coming and going that you could rely on. That came in handy for holidays and stuff,” Diemer said.

During his first year, Diemer said that he and the other volunteers would try to get together to celebrate American holidays. As time went on, these holidays became increasingly hard to replicate, so they found themselves celebrating the local holidays instead.

“You don’t really have that deep cultural understanding, but after a while they do have some value for you, especially in the second year,” Diemer said.

While working in The Gambia, Diemer missed out on a lot of events back home. He said the hardest aspect was missing pop culture talk, like music and movie references.

“People talk about (pop culture references) because they are surrounded by them, and I sort of smile and nod and go along with the flow,” Diemer said.

However, he said the rewards he has gained through his experiences with the Peace Corps far outweigh awkward pop culture moments now that he has returned home.

“You missed out in a way, but it help builds who you are,” Diemer said. “The experiences are a lot more personal. You get to have a sense of where you’ve been, and that helps you decide where you want to go.”

Galer said she agreed with Diemer that volunteers gain personal experiences as well as professional experience.

“It gives you great international experience, cross-cultural experience and language experience,” Galer said.

In addition, Diemer has taught many students about basic technologies that will greatly impact their future.

“There’s a few people I trained really well. They are taking the skills that I gave them and sort of making a life for themselves after that,” Diemer said.

Since his work with students in The Gambia, Diemer said he has gained a new appreciation for technology. Although he is not quite sure how, he hopes to work with technology in some way in the future.

“The biggest thing was just coming back and feeling like you’ve done a lot of good stuff and gained life skills,” Diemer said. “You can’t express that in a resume.”