Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-066
Pam Mount served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia from 1967 to 1970 as a teacher. She was initially inspired by meeting a Peace Corps recruiter at a Girl Scout Jamboree in high school. She married her boyfriend right after she graduated from college, and a week later they left for training together. Because of some political pressure, a lot of volunteers were sent to Micronesia in 1966. The couple was initially assigned to the Yap district (and had learned Yap in training), but before long they were asked by the chief of the island of Satawel to come there instead. Mount taught English first, then became an all-purpose teacher. She speaks of the communal culture and how much could be learned by her husband sitting with the men in the canoe huts and her cooking on the beach with the women. She is proud that the people of Satawel have become leaders in Micronesia, which the islanders attribute to the help that the Mounts gave them. Mount also talks about her father's death during her service and the trip home for his funeral. Finally, she discusses the challenge of figuring out what to do after their tour of duty and how the lessons of the Peace Corps continue to guide their activism in their community. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 26, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).