Maddy Eldredge

Costa Rica and The Peace Corps

Maddy Eldredge will tell you that LJUMCNS is where she first developed an awareness for others, compassion and a desire to look beyond herself to expand her personal growth as well as the growth of the world around us.

Born and raised in La Jolla, Maddy attended LJUMCNS from 2000 to 2004. Some of her teachers are still teaching today and have fond memories of Maddy. This includes Gini, who remembers her as “very helpful in the class and always there to be a good friend.”

After attending La Jolla’s The Evans School and The Bishop’s School, Maddy went on to graduate from Wake Forest University School of Business with a degree in business and enterprise management.

Maddy credits her amazing teachers who continue to have a huge impact on her. Yearning to do the same for others, Maddy worked for Teach for America in North Carolina after graduating and has now joined the Peace Corps, a service opportunity for motivated change makers to immerse themselves in a community abroad.

“The Peace Corps had always been a big dream,” Maddy says. “I thought the volunteers were so brave, but never really thought of it as a real option for myself. Two years is a long time, and it’s scary diving headfirst into the unknown.”

Maddy initially applied to the Peace Corps as an English teacher and was accepted, but chose to reapply as a community economics development (CED) volunteer, which better suited her experience as a business major. She was offered a position as a CED volunteer in Costa Rica.

“CED volunteers do a lot of different types of work; so what I do in Costa Rica might look completely different than the work another CED volunteer is doing,” she says. “I primarily focus on working with a women’s group on developing their business, which includes giving a 12-week women-in-entrepreneurship course, calculating budgets and price points, helping them make project timelines and more.”

Maddy also works with other community groups, from the local development board to high school students, whenever they need training. “The Peace Corps focuses a lot of energy on capacity building – helping individuals and groups obtain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their jobs and support their community – because it’s the most sustainable form of development.”

As Maddy prepares to wrap up her time with the Peace Corps, she plans to continue working in international sustainable development, while incorporating aspects of environmental conservation and sustainability.

Whatever Maddy does, she has the support of her La Jolla Community behind her and the values of LJUMCNS within her. She is certain to continue making a positive impact on the world.

Learn more about Maddy’s adventures in Costa Rica, by visiting her personal blog, Life in Costa Rica with The Peace Corps.

Visit her blog here.