Peace Corps in Macedonia: My First International Field Trip

As I mentioned in a previous post, I serve as one of the coordinators for CLIPS, or Civic Leadership in Prilep Scholars. It is a youth group that was started a few years back by another Peace Corps volunteer from Prilep. She started this group since, as a TEFL, she discovered that many students from the area did not have any plans for their future after high school. Many did not know how to best prepare for their careers, or how to study abroad if the interest was there. She thus started CLIPS to help these students learn new skills and navigate the pre-professional pathways. Additionally, the program has expanded to Bitola and may expand to other towns like Gevgelija.

Along with my sitemate, I am currently managing the program, and we have about 15 bright students from four of Prilep’s high schools. Each Saturday we host a workshop, trying to make it as interactive as possible since students are sacrificing their Saturday morning to learn something interesting. We also host English conversation hours on a weekly basis so that scholars can practice their English as well as bond as a group.

Last Saturday, we chaperoned these students for our first (and personally for me, my first) international field trip. We visited the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. The university had provided the bus ride to our group for free as an invitation to their Open House. None of this would have been possible if a former CLIPS member, who is currently studying at the university, did not suggest that they provide the logistics for our students.

We left very early on Saturday morning at 3AM from the city center. Many of the clubs were still teeming with partying youth, so it was very strange to congregate and wait for the transportation at that time. The bus ride to the university lasted about 4.5 hours, including the border stop. When we arrived, our students were lead on an information session and tour of the small campus (especially small when compared to most university campuses in the USA). The CLIPS students were also able to observe a few of the classes.

Overall, our students really enjoyed this trip. Many of them were intrigued by the diversity of the students, the different structure of the classes, the availability of many resources on campus. Many of our fourth years have decided to apply to a few universities outside of Macedonia, and some of our younger students are considering applying to high school programs abroad. In many ways, this program was built on the hard work and dedication from coordinators and members before us, and it is rewarding that we were able to elevate CLIPS’s impact on its students with such a trip.