Highlands grad heading to Dominican Republic with Peace Corps

Highlands alum Madalyn Heinle is about to set off on the adventure of her life.

The 22-year-old will jet off to the Dominican Republic as a member of the Peace Corps, a federal program that deploys volunteers to provide help in 60 developing countries.

“I’m very nervous, but the excitement takes over that,” said Heinle, who graduated in the spring from the University of Pittsburgh.

“I just can’t help but feel so excited. I get to work with new people, try new food, live in a totally different culture.

“I know there will be hardships and challenges, but I’m excited for it all.”

Heinle, a Harrison resident, said her fate was sealed during the first week of college.

The Peace Corps hosted a booth at orientation and it drew her attention. Over the next four years, she catered her studies to international travel, majoring in political science with a minor in Spanish.

“I thought maybe I would work for the government or an embassy. I just wanted to work with other cultures but didn’t know how or what,” she said. “The Peace Corps was always in the back of my mind.”

Her passion for adventure traces to her high school years at Highlands, Heinle said. Specifically, to her Spanish teacher, Laura Proano, who regularly shared with students tales from her own global travels as a Peace Corps volunteer.

“Senora Proano would always tell us about her experiences and incorporate her stories into the class. She told us how expanding our global mindset would help us in any career,” Heinle said. “I thought it sounded like the most interesting thing.”

Proano, a 1995 Highlands graduate, served in the Peace Corps in the early 2000s. Before serving in Ecuador, she studied abroad in the Dominican Republic while pursuing a business and international studies degree at the University of Pittsburgh.

Proano credited Heinle for demonstrating empathy, global competence and leadership in high school.

“Whether it was exchanging letters with her pen pal in Ecuador, discussing global issues with classmates, thoughtfully interviewing our international guests or volunteering for a local political campaign, I am so proud of Madalyn for being a global citizen who will continue to make a positive change in this world,” Proano said.

“I am honored and humbled that she credits me for planting the Peace Corps seed, and I look forward to following her global path.”

The Peace Corps, established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, provides workers in fields such as education, health, women’s empowerment and community development.

It started with 900 volunteers in 16 countries and has since sent more than 240,000 Americans to 142 locations worldwide.

Admission is a competitive process that determines which students have the stamina to serve two years across the globe in their host country.

“I told them I would go anywhere and do anything, as long as it was a Spanish-speaking country and I got to work with kids,” Heinle said.

She received her invitation to serve two weeks before her college graduation.

“It worked out perfectly because I will be teaching English to primary school children,” she said.

While in the Dominican Republic, Heinle will be expected to learn the local customs, perfect the language and live among not-so-modern conditions.

She leaves Wednesday, Aug. 23, for 10 weeks of training and will be officially sworn in Nov. 1.

Heinle is among a group of about 100 Americans who will travel to an undisclosed location. Another 150 will arrive in March.

Volunteers don’t learn their host site until the end of training.

“It could be super rural or a big city,” Heinle said. “I have no preference.”

Cell service, she said, is generally good in most locations. If she can’t call home, Heinle said she’ll write letters.

Also, everything she needs for the next two years has to fit in two suitcases.

“It’s 86 degrees every day the entire year though,” she said, with a laugh. “That cuts out a lot of what I need.

“Besides, I can do without the luxuries of the United States.”

Heinle described herself as headstrong and ambitious but also laid-back.

“My parents have so many concerns, but I assure them that it will be OK. If I really am not having a good time, I can come home,” she said. “I’m not planning on that, but it brings them a level of comfort to hear.”

She will definitely miss home but is eager to drench herself in somewhere new.

“My experience there will shape who I am,” she said. “I’ll find out if I love teaching and traveling.”

She spent the summer soaking up time with her family and friends, who have slowly come around to the idea of her global adventures.

“When I first mentioned it as a freshman, they were unsure,” she said. “After all the years of me talking about it, they saw the passion I have for it. Now they’re supportive and they realize they couldn’t have talked me out of it.”