Noell Adams in the Laxson Auditorium courtyard in March

Finding a New Path

During her 27 months in the Peace Corps, Noell Adams taught English, coordinated a girls’ leadership camp, and worked to help end human trafficking.

“I wanted to make a difference in the world and experience a new way of life,” says Adams (BA, Public Administration, ’04; BA, Social Science, ’04). “Peace Corps was the answer.”

Adams began her work in Veles, Macedonia, as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) volunteer in a vocational high school. She also helped coordinate Camp GLOW Macedonia (Girls Leading Our World), a leadership camp for girls 14–18 years old. The camp covered topics the girls wouldn’t normally hear about in their schools—nutrition, sexuality, and self-esteem and assertiveness.

One of the camp’s goals was to break down some of the stereotypes that exist among several of Macedonia’s main ethnic groups: Macedonian, Albanian, and Roma. Adams remembers two girls who found themselves sharing a seat on the bus to camp. One was Roma, one Albanian. They were clearly uncomfortable with each other at first, reports Adams. But by the end of the long bus ride, the two were chatting and giggling like old friends. “By the end of camp,” said Adams, “they’d become best friends.”

Adams also helped a new group raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a major country of transit for human trafficking, so the group formed the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee. Adams helped prepare educational materials and raise money for a new Web site (www.mkmatters.com). After talking with her former sociology teacher, Janja Lalich, Adams teamed with the Sociological Association of Chico State, which organized an informational booth at the campus’s Breaking the Silence and Red Tent events in spring 2006 and raised money for the anti-trafficking committee. Adams’ efforts on this project and others landed her the technical and cultural facilitator job for the Peace Corps, where she designed and implemented the technical component of the 12-week pre-service training program for TEFL trainees.

Adams’ host family introduced her to Macedonian culture. Macedonians value trust and friendship, which are key to developing effective work relationships. “We cooked together, laughed together, and cried together,” she says. “We were and are family.”

Now working for Google in Mountain View as a technical sourcer, Adams recruits talented engineers from around the world to join Google’s engineering team. She enjoys her work helping international applicants through the process, and credits both her work in CSU, Chico’s career planning and advising offices and in the Peace Corps for preparing her for this work. “The faculty and staff at CSU, Chico value volunteerism,” says Adams, and they “encourage students to become engaged in community activities and organizations and to volunteer through CAVE and service learning projects.”

When asked about her experience, Adams reflects, “One cannot venture across the world and come back the same person. Living in Macedonia changed my understanding of success and happiness.”

Casey Huff and Tammy Furmanski, Public Affairs and Publications