But I don’t want to tell you about that night 65 years ago. I want to tell you about what happened after that night.
Kennedy challenged all of us with a bold idea: To devote part of our lives as world citizens to the people of developing countries, many of them newly free from colonial rule. I was determined to rise to the occasion, so a few friends and I hit the ground running. We wrote letters committing ourselves to direct action and lobbied other campuses to do the same. We circulated a petition among the student body to amplify that commitment. We organized a conference at American University with more than 400 schools represented to discuss and debate the idea of a volunteer service corps supporting development efforts abroad. Introducing Sargent Shriver on stage that day was a moment I will never forget.
Nobody asked us to do all this. Inspiration led to action, and after a summer working in Washington, D.C. to design and implement the selection process for the first applicants, I joined the Peace Corps myself as part of the first cohort of Thailand volunteers. Later, Shriver wrote that the Peace Corps wouldn’t have happened if we students hadn’t had such a strong response to the idea.
That’s the lesson: That inspiration and action go hand-in-hand. As a community we must remember that both are needed to achieve real impact in the world.
This is why I support Peace Corps Park – because the symbolic value of a permanent space in our nation’s capital commemorating our shared values inspires action. And because the Park, with its digital experience and educational components, will bring stories of service alive for future generations. I hope that will mobilize them to join our community of people who believe in the power of service.
Among the memorials in our nation’s capital, America must remember those who have dedicated their lives to building peace, to being citizens of the world. People like you and me.
So join me in telling our story in one of the boldest ways we can – with a new federal commemorative work in Washington, D.C. We are all part of this story, and we can all inspire others to action.
With my deepest gratitude and appreciation,
Judy Guskin
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Thailand, 1961-64
