Alison Evans Davis

I will never forget my first day of teaching at Wyższej Szkoły Środowiska w Bydgoszczy.  My students – who were pursuing their bachelor degrees in environmental science – were just a few years younger than I was.  I had never taught a class in my life, much less a university level course on a topic as highly specialized as “sustainable development approaches for the Baltic Region.”  My students were scared as well: was the teacher really going to be teaching the entire course in English (even though she could speak a little Polish)?  But that was Peace Corps – a challenge to do more and learn more than I ever imagined and change my life and the lives of others along the way.  By the end of my two year stay in Bydgoszcz, both my students and I were surprised by how much we accomplished together.  We built a common understanding of the environmental and development issues facing Poland and the Baltic Region.  My students’ abilities to discuss the complex problems and opportunities of sustainability in English grew by leaps and bounds.  By our second year together they were busy presenting papers at international conferences in English, sailing the Baltic with a multinational crew to survey its flora and fauna, and creating a network of environmentally-conscious young professionals. 

At the same time, I had the opportunity to study and teach about the economy, transportation network and environmental systems of Poland and saw a lot of the country along the way.  Even more than 10 years later, I am stilled impressed by the immense beauty of Poland.  From the northern town of Hel on a narrow peninsula jutting into Gdansk Bay through its picturesque farmlands to the beautiful mountains of Zakopane in the south, it is an astoundingly handsome country.  My experiences in Poland through the Peace Corps are ones I will always treasure, and the legacy of friendship and mutual appreciation they fostered will stay with me forever.

Alison Evans Davis served with the U.S. Peace Corps in Poland from 1998 to 2000.  She is currently a Public Diplomacy Officer with the U.S. Foreign Service posted at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City.  She will be returning to the Baltic Region in 2012 when she will join the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia as Assistant Public Affairs Officer.