Scarlett Sanudo, BA ’13 (psychology & Spanish)

Peace Corps location: Morocco and Ecuador

Current location: Segovia, Spain

Current position: Admissions Advisor at IE University

While I grew up in Portland, Oregon, I was raised in a smaller Catholic community and didn't really get a chance to interact with people who weren't Catholic. UO was my first chance to see and gain understanding of different perspectives and cultures and meeting people from all over the country and world really changed my perceptions of myself and the world. It also led me to want to join the Peace Corps, where I served in both Morocco and Ecuador during two different tours.

While in Ecuador, I worked for a foundation that worked with child laborers in Quito. Many of them had experienced trauma from immigration and child labor. The trauma manifested itself particularly violent behaviors, and caused the staff and teachers a heightened amount of stress. Working with the school's psychologist and a community health volunteer, I coordinated a number of mental health awareness and self-care workshops. At the end of the program, teachers and staff rated that their stress levels had dropped.

Peace Corps provided the stepping stones for me to attend grad school at the Universitat Jaume I in Spain studying Peace Studies and Conflict Studies, teach English as a second language, and work as an intern with the United Nations Institute of Training and Research, which were all amazing experiences. I think the most important things that I learned that I carry with me to this day is to be flexible, recognize that everyone is going through their own personal struggles, and to be kind to yourself. Comparison is the death of joy.