AUGUST THE BUGLE
28, 2013
wspapers.com
www.buglene
n of See a full editio ew at the Pigskin Previrs.com buglenewspape
13
PIGSKIN PREVIEW In-depth coverage of local high school football
NEWS DuPage Co. to look into stormwater utility
PAGE 2
INSIDE
Downers North looking strong Page 14
5c x 2" ar - Mayor Cla Village of BB
www.buglenewspapers.com
Our Community, Our News
AUGUST 28, 2013
Vol. 5 No. 39
Experience of A LIFETIME Downers Grove resident finds calling in Peace Corps service By Jonathan Samples Staff Reporter
D
owners Grove North graduate Casey Conger knew at a young age she wanted to serve in the Peace
Corps. When she was only 13, Conger was exposed to the stories of a family friend’s experience in the Corps. That’s the first time she realized it was something she wanted to do. “I remember just absorbing her stories, and I thought this Peace Corps thing sounded really cool,” Conger said. In February 2011, she made that dream a reality, serving nearly two and a half years in a small Paraguayan village called Potrero Báez. Earlier this month, Conger returned to Latin America, where she will spend the next year teaching English and volunteering in Panama. Although not through the Peace Corps, Conger’s recent journey to Santiago, a city about five hours from Panama’s capital, was born directly out of her experience with
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Casey Conger stands with a preschool class she taught during her two and a half year Peace Corps assignment in Potrero Báez, Paraguay.
the Corps. Using part of her readjustment allowance, Conger traveled all throughout South America and part of Central America after her assignment in Paraguay ended. While visiting an old friend in Panama, Conger had a revelation. “I realized that there were a lot of opportunities in that area,including teaching English,” she said. “That is something that I am interested in, and it would be a way to sustain myself while I work as a volunteer
doing non-governmental organization work.” Conger first developed a passion for international service as a freshman at DePaul University. She co-founded a DePaul chapter of Medical Brigades, a student organization that develops sustainable health initiatives and provides relief where there is limited access to healthcare. While in college, she embarked on several international service missions to
such countries as Belize and Honduras. And while the stories of her family friend initially sparked her interest in the Peace Corps, these trips were what ultimately sealed that fate. “After getting this experience, I knew the Peace Corps was something that I wanted to do and something I could handle,” She said. See PEACE CORPS, page 27