A Change of Guard

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Friday 9 December 2011

[Californian] Jane Campbell: RB grad in Cambodia with Peace Corps


Jane Campbell, right, with one of her students at the flood relief donation ceremony in October.

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak
Pomerado News
8th December, 2011
Poway, California

Helping Cambodian flood victims and teaching teens English are a few tasks Jane Campbell has been doing since beginning her two-year stint in the Peace Corps.

“I joined Peace Corps because I wanted to live abroad and share my knowledge and skills with those in need,” Campbell said. “Peace Corps has a wonderful philosophy that promotes both personal and communal growth through cross-cultural exchange and integration into one’s community.

“I didn’t simply want to travel, rather I wanted to devote myself to a different culture and gain different perspectives,” she said.

Campbell, daughter of Jim and Katie Campbell, lived her first 18 years in Rancho Bernardo. She graduated from RB High in 2003, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Francisco State University in 2007 and worked as a child development counselor and behavior therapist for three years.

While Campbell said she wants to earn a master’s degree in counseling psychology, the 26-year-old delayed graduate school so she could spend a couple years helping others.

“My time as a Peace Corps volunteer has given me the ability to redefine and shine light on my passion for working with at-risk youth and their families,” she said.

Since arriving in Cambodia in July 2010, Campbell has been a youth development adviser and English teacher for high school juniors and seniors.

“When not in the classroom, I spend my time promoting youth volunteerism through workshops and clubs, as well as leading a series of extracurricular activities ranging from art projects and team-building activities to gardening and coaching 10th grade basketball,” she said.

Last October, Campbell initiated a partnership with Action for Development, a local non-governmental organization, to help families affected by floods earlier this year.

“Over $2,500 was donated through online fundraising and supported 103 families — approximately 415 individuals — with food, mosquito nets, water filters and hygienic products,” she said. “The donation ceremony promoted awareness regarding mosquito-borne illness prevention and provided all attendees with methods for sanitation and hygienic upkeep.”

Campbell said she requested a southeast Asia assignment because she wanted to go somewhere “completely different.” She has encountered challenges, like learning Khmer — Cambodia’s national language, and getting used to eating rice three times a day.

“(Rice) can become monotonous, (but) I have learned to appreciate and value communal living and reveling in the little things that make each day beautiful,” she said. “My experience … has been both challenging and gratifying. Being a part of my counterparts’ and students’ lives … has allowed me to develop the kind of relationships that will resonate beyond my time in Cambodia.”

Campbell said she is considering extending her assignment beyond next August. “Two years may sound like a lifetime to live in a foreign place, but Cambodia truly has become my second home and I can’t imagine leaving in a short nine months.”

As for being life-changing, she said, “I have come to understand and appreciate humility and perseverance … I am grateful for the days that are difficult, frustrating and filled with uncertainty. These are the moments that I remind myself to be humble, to know that it is OK to fail and that having the ability to persevere is the true testament to one’s character.”

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