Irvington Resident Begins Peace Corps Service In Peru

IRVINGTON, NY — Lesia Danyluk, 21, of Irvington has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Peru on Aug. 15 to begin training as a youth development volunteer. Danyluk will live and work in a community to provide local youth with needed skills and build their self-esteem through programs. She said she was inspired by a professor who was a Peace Corps volunteer.

“The opportunity to not only to do what I loved in a beautiful foreign country, but also to be able to make a significant impact in others’ lives made this decision easy for me,” Danyluk said.

Danyluk is the daughter of Andrew and Christina Danyluk of Irvington, and a graduate of The Ursuline School in New Rochelle. She attended Binghamton University in Binghamton, where she earned a dual degree in human development and Spanish in May 2017.

Prior to joining the Peace Corps, she worked as a teaching assistant at the after school program “Kids Club” and at the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier in Binghamton. In addition, she interned for non-profit organizations such as the Magic Paintbrush Project and enCourage Kids Foundation, which both provide incredible services for the special needs and medically disadvantaged individuals in their local communities.

During the first three months of her service, Danyluk will live with a host family in Peru to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist her community, Danyluk will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Peru, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.

“Yes, I fell in love with Peru when I first volunteered in the summer of 2014,” Danyluk said. “I acknowledged their need for help, especially in the youth in development sector, so I made it my goal to return and provide them with the resources and knowledge they were lacking.”

“In the future, I hope to pursue a career in non-profit administration,” she added. “This service will help me gain valuable experience in planning and implementing community programs, and will help identify my specific interests and passions that I will take with me into my future job.”

Danyluk, who hopes to pursue a career in non-profit administration, will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Peru and help Danyluk develop leadership, technical and cross-cultural skills that will give her a competitive edge when she returns home. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens well-positioned for professional opportunities in today’s global job market, according to a spokeswoman.

Danyluk joins the 379 New York State residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 13,791 New York State residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.

Officials at the Peace Corps said there has never been a better time to apply, and reforms have made the process simpler, faster and more personalized than ever before. Through a one-hour online application, applicants can now choose the countries and programs they’d like to be considered for. Browse available volunteer positions at www.peacecorps.gov/openings.

Photo caption: Lesia Danyluk at Machu Picchu in Peru. Photo credit: Submitted.