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'Take life by the reins': Atlantic Beach woman is part of Peace Corps return to overseas service

Agency evacuated volunteers in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic

Beth Reese Cravey
Florida Times-Union
In Costa Rica a Peace Corps volunteer moves soccer practice under a covered area during a rainstorm.

At 27, Atlantic Beach resident Katherine "Kaydee" Gavron is already a world traveler, having embedded herself in other countries to experience their cultures.

She has spent time in Argentina, Finland, France, Italy and Malta. And this weekend she heads to Washington, D.C., for an orientation session on her next international adventure — as a Peace Corps volunteer working with youth in Costa Rica.

"Most people follow a prescribed path," Gavron said, but in high school she wanted to get "to know different ways of life. I wanted to take life by the reins."

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Gavron will be among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency’s COVID-19 evacuation in March 2020. The agency suspended global operations and evacuated about 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries.

Gavron

This year the agency resumed recruiting volunteers to serve in 42 countries that have asked volunteers to return, but is monitoring COVID-19 in those countries.

Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the Peace Corps is an international service network of volunteers, community members, host country partners and staff.

At the invitation of governments across the world, about 240,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 142 countries worldwide, working alongside community members on locally prioritized projects in education, health, environment, agriculture, community economic development and youth development.

A Peace Corps volunteer plays chess with boys in Costa Rica. In 2022 such volunteers are returning to overseas service for the first time since the agency's global COVID-19 evacuation in 2020.

Gavron and other 2022 volunteers will serve 27 months in their assigned countries, living with host families. They will undergo three months of training then collaborate with their communities on locally prioritized projects and all will engage in COVID-19 response and recovery work, according to the agency.

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"The world is at a critical juncture," CEO Carol Spahn said. "The largest global vaccination effort in history is underway while other widespread health, social, political and environmental issues continue to erode the foundation of our global society. Actions taken in the next few years have the potential to fundamentally impact development trajectories for decades to come."

'Life changes,' overseas visits lead to Peace Corps decision

Gavron graduated from Fletcher High School in Jacksonville Beach and obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida. She initially planned to study biology but switched majors.

"I am so happy I did," she said. "I did not enjoy science."

After college she experienced what she called a series of "life changes," including the death of her father, the end of a six-year relationship, living on her own for the first time and the pandemic. She worked in marketing, "using psychology to sell people things," she said, "but that was not what I'm about."

At an all-girls camp led by Peace Corps volunteers in Costa Rica, a group of teenage girls use handshakes and paint to learn how sexually transmitted diseases are spread.

Then she spent a few months at a time working in other countries through the Workaway program, which arranges homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food provided by their host.

Gavron said she worked on a farm in one place and at hostels in other places.

"I was on my own," she said. "It was isolating, but a really good challenge."

Her life experiences told her she needed to spend her time on "something that sparks passion," such as helping people, particularly youth. She applied to the Peace Corps prior to the pandemic but never followed through — until this year.

"I believe in living communally," she said, "taking care of each other."

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So the idea of living and working in an overseas community was appealing, she said.

"I had no issue donating two years of my life," she said, and she believes in the Peace Corps approach to its host countries. "We're not forcing ideology."

Because of her time in Argentina, Gavron knows the Spanish language, which will be a plus in Costa Rica. She has worked with young people before and can apply what she remembers from her own youthful struggles.

Katherine "Kaydee" Gavron of Atlantic Beach is headed to Costa Rica as one of the first Peace Corps volunteers to return overseas since the agency's COVID-19 evacuation in 2020.

She wants to be a role model.

"I want to be the person I needed growing up … that helps to reassure you that you matter," she said.

The first step toward her new life will be a three-day orientation in Washington with other volunteers. Then she heads to Costa Rica for her three months of training.

"I am ready to take this big leap. I know I can handle it," she said. Even if things go in an unexpected direction, she said, "I'd rather have an oops than a what-if."

"To people who say, 'I could never do this,' there is nothing stopping you," she said.

PEACE CORPS

For more information contact the Peace Corps at (855) 855-1961 or peacecorps.gov. To apply call (202) 692-1040, email volunteer@peacecorps.gov or go to peacecorps.gov/apply.