Erika Parkins (Class of 2007) Helps Moldovan School Improve Health of Students
Submitted by Alyssa Kiefer in Alumni News, Class of 2007 on July 28, 2017
Erika Parkins has committed her life to serving people in other countries, including Moldova, Rwanda and Guatemala. She worked at Redwood Christian Elementary campus starting in the ninth grade all the way through high school (2003-2007).On November 15, 2016, PeaceCorpsWest posted a wonderful article about Erika. To read the entire article, please visit https://peacecorpswest.com/
“WASHINGTON, November 15, 2016 – Peace Corps Volunteer Erika Parkins, 27, of Castro Valley, Calif., worked with her community in Moldova to install a new ventilation system in the kitchen of the local school, which will help ensure students’ meals are prepared in a clean, safe environment. A portion of the funds for the project were raised through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, which helps support Peace Corps Volunteer community projects around the world.
“Parkins, who departed for Peace Corps service on June 2, 2015, is currently working as a Health Volunteer in Moldova, where she provides health education to primary and middle school students in her community.
“My decision to join Peace Corps was a culmination of what I had been working towards,” Parkins said. “I had always been interested in international work. I studied it, wrote about it, traveled as much as I could, but I really wanted to put into practice all these things that I had learned. This has given me the opportunity to see the reality, both good and difficult parts, of working abroad.”“Parkins is the daughter of Susie and Doug Parkins of Castro Valley, Calif., and is a 2007 graduate of Redwood Christian High School in San Lorenzo, Calif. She attended the University of California, Irvine, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminology, law and society in 2011.
Parkins went on to earn a master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution with a concentration in peacebuilding from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2014.
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, she volunteered as an English teacher in Guatemala and as a youth development volunteer in Haiti, as well as assisted with a human rights monitoring program in Rwanda.
“One of the reasons I wanted to join Peace Corps was to really delve into a culture in a way that a short trip just cannot do,” Parkins said. “Learning how to work and live so differently than I ever have has made me a more creative and understanding person.”
