It was a toss-up between the Middle East and South America for Brendan McCleary’s Peace Corps assignment. But after two years teaching English to Mexican immigrants in Charlottesville, said the Vienna native, he chose South America.
McCleary, who graduated from James Madison High School in 2001 and the University of Virginia in May, will leave in September for El Salvador for two years as an agroforestry and environmental education volunteer with the Peace Corps.
"I don’t know anything about what I am going to do there," said McCleary. "It’s really exciting for me, because I get to learn a whole new skill set other than what I learned in school."
While at UVA, McCleary majored in psychology and Spanish. He is spending the summer doing landscape work for the City of Fairfax, which he said helps with the agroforestry part of his new job description. McCleary also used to work for Cox Farms, a Vienna garden center.
McCleary started thinking about the Peace Corps two years ago, but always knew he wanted to live in another country for awhile. In the spring of 2004, he spent four and a half months studying abroad in Valencia, Spain, and another three traveling around Europe. He is fluent in Spanish and also took classes in Arabic.
"This is a time of your life to explore things and find out what you really want to do," said McCleary’s mother Lorraine. "(McCleary) loves to travel and experience different countries. We’re very proud of him."
"I think (the Peace Corps) is a great idea, perfect for him. He’s a kind of guy who’s always looking to help people," said Alex Defee, Brendan McCleary’s friend since seventh grade.
"We’re a family that has always believed in community service and volunteer work," said Lorraine McCleary. "Our church goes to Bethany House in D.C. and serves meals." In fact, Lorraine McCleary, a physical therapist, is thinking about serving in the Peace Corps with her husband Hunter after retirement.
"I worked with him at Cox farms, we always had a great time working there, going to Great Falls and hiking around," said friend Suzanne Hirsc. "He’s a man in his own world, but he steps out to help people."
"I mean, after living abroad I think I left a little disillusioned with this country and came back appreciating it more," said Brendan McCleary. "Instead of letting someone else manage how other nations see the U.S., they can see it through me."
"Hippie economist," said Defee, when asked how he would describe Brendan McCleary. "He’s always been a hippie, but then he took some economics classes, and he talks about that."
Indeed, Brendan McCleary’s post-Peace-Corps plans are global ones: he is thinking about studying international relations in graduate school when he returns.
It’s not a set agenda, however. "I get two years of thinking," he said. "A lot of my friends are rushing back into school or jobs, but I get to think about it."