Birmingham nurse headed to Africa with Peace Corps – The Oakland Press
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Carol Beck is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. This weekend the Birmingham resident will leave for Zambia and a year-long assignment as a volunteer for the Peace Corps.
The 61-year-old retiree worked as a nurse and nurse practitioner at multiple healthcare facilities throughout Southeast Michigan during her career, including Harper Hospital in Detroit.
Beck has traveled the world on personal vacations, but this will be her first trip to Africa.
“The key to a successful retirement is having purpose and being open to new experiences,” she said. “It keeps me young. I have to have a purpose in life and this gives me that.”
She will be part of a group departing from Washington D.C. for Dubai where they’ll meet up with the rest of their team. Then they’ll continue on to Zambia, a landlocked country in Africa.
Beck and the team will work with the Zambian Ministry of Education and local school systems to create an HIV education program targeted at adolescent and young women.
“I get to use my skills and help people, but it is an adventure at the same time,” said Beck, who has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Oakland University and a master’s degree from University Detroit Mercy as a nurse practitioner.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Peace Corps suspended global operations in early 2020 and evacuated 7,000 volunteers from over 60 countries. After completing a competitive process for approval and placement, Beck was originally scheduled to travel to Zambia in October 2020, but the Peace Corps had not resumed operations.
She sold her home in Birmingham and was preparing for Africa when those plans were put on hold. Instead of flying halfway around the world, Beck packed up her car, began criss-crossing the country working and vacationing and waited for a phone call.
Earlier this year after starting work at a hospice facility in Colorado , she got word that the Peace Corps was ready to begin sending volunteers in Zambia.
“I’m a freebird in life and this is the perfect time to go wherever the wind blows,” she said. “The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more comfortable you are.”
Beck admitted that her destination and work will be daunting, but is ready for the challenge.
“It is a total change and there is no question I am afraid,” she said. “But I am not going to let fear and anxiousness stop me.”
For more information, visit peacecorps.gov
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