Acton Resident Begins Peace Corps Service in Tanzania

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted by Elizabeth Chamberlain.)

Alison Nord, 22, of Acton, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and departed for Tanzania on Oct. 1 to begin training as an environmental specialist volunteer. Nord will live and work in a community to promote environmental education by assisting village communities in managing natural resources and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

“At the University of Vermont, I worked a lot with various food sustainability programs and I was drawn to the opportunity to do environmental work abroad.  The Peace Corps also seemed like a unique opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture and gain a new perspective,” she said.

Nord is the daughter of Diane Flis and Alan Nord and a graduate of Acton-Boxborough High School. She then attended the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science in 2012. 

During the first three months of her service, Nord will live with a host family in Tanzania to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills necessary to assist her community, Nord will be sworn into service and be assigned to a community in Tanzania, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.

“Being a volunteer seemed like the perfect experience to have after college to help me put my career goals in perspective and discover what areas of my field that I want to work in. The opportunity to travel abroad and live and work in a place that I might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit was also a major factor,” she continued.

Nord joins the 286 Mass. residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 7,820 Mass. residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.