Makita Simmons, 31, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Macedonia on September 16, 2016 to begin training as a community development volunteer. Simmons will live and work in a community help nongovernmental organizations address local needs.
“My father serving in the military has contributed to my need to want to help others, give back, pursue my dreams and influence others positively,” said Simmons of her desire to join the Peace Corps. “This will provide me with a new challenge, a chance to do something different, learn to speak a language, meet new and exciting people and embrace a new culture and customs.”
Simmons is the daughter of Michael Simmons and Mary Simpson and a graduate of Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She then attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in interior and apparel merchandising with a minor in business in 2008. She went on to earn an MBA in 2011 at the University of Phoenix Raleigh campus.
Prior to serving in the Peace Corps, Simmons worked as an Entertainment Specialist at Los Angeles Center Studios and served as a Girl Scout troop leader.
During the first three months of her service, Simmons will live with a host family in Macedonia to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist her community, Simmons will be sworn into service and be assigned to a community in Macedonia, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.
As a community development volunteer, Simons will work with local NGOs representing environmental, youth and women’s issues to help them develop and become sustainable and capable of delivering needed services. “My main objective is to touch the lives of others individually and contribute to the world,” said Simmons. “I want to be able to see the world from a new perspective. Even though this experience is designed to help others, I know I will gain so much more learning a new culture.”
Simmons will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Macedonia and help Simmons 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.
Among graduates of East Carolina University, Simmons is in good company. She joins the 9 other Pirates currently serving overseas in the Peace Corps.
Simmons joins the 175 North Carolina residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 4, 249 North Carolina residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.
Click here to learn more about the Peace Corps in Macedonia.
