NORWICH – After graduating from Norwich High School in 1998 and studying psychology and computers at SUNY Oswego, John Kolb knew he didn’t want to enter life’s normal rat race. Instead, he made a decision he states, he will never regret, entering the Peace Corps.

Growing up on a farm outside of Norwich, John said he always knew he wanted to do something different and meaningful with his life. While he was in college, he had heard some information about the Peace Corps, and while working some odd jobs after college, he decided to apply. “ I just felt it was something I wanted to do,” he said.

The Peace Corps was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Peace Corps volunteers are invited to work in developing countries, where they work to achieve their three goals: Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women, helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served and helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

In March of 2005, John was invited into the Peace Corps and just three months later, he was on his way to a new life and a new culture in Armenia.

After a few days in a local hotel, the volunteers were sent to live with their host families, knowing only a few words of Armenian. “It’s actually really useful, because you have to learn the language,” John said of his time with the host family. “If you need something, you have to know how to ask for it.” John went through extensive training at the village school with 51 other Peace Corps trainees, and after two and a half months, he became an official volunteer and began working at a local business center.