Name: Emma Taylor
Contact: [email protected]
Place I Call Home
Easton, CT, U.S. but I’m rarely at home
Languages Spoken
English (clearly) and a decent amount of Spanish
Volunteer Experience
I wandered in to HODR’s disaster response programme in Peru on Thanksgiving of 2007 thinking I would stay for two weeks at most. I didn’t leave until August of 2008. My time in Pisco was split between HODR and BWB.
In my time in Pisco I worked with several other remarkable volunteers to lead HODR’s rubble crew Centro Rubble, led a team that built a home for a family with an attached sanitation unit, and then managed a EU 10,000 construction project to build the Ebenezer School.
My volunteer experience is a little atypical because I didn’t spend much time working before I found myself in a leadership role. It is a testament to the “attitude over experience” principle that we at EDV live by. I had some leadership experience and was keen to learn. The extraordinary long-term volunteers I worked with were only too happy to bring me up to speed. And the experience has been life changing.
Why I Volunteer
Good question. Honestly, I don’t really know what drew me to get involved to this extent. My arrival at HODR’s programme in Pisco was random; I was tired of being a tourist and wanted a change. I never thought that it would change my life.
If anyone had told me when I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2007 that I would find myself the Media and Marketing director of EDV today I would have laughed in their faces. But that’s the remarkable thing about volunteering – it can affect you in totally unexpected ways.
But I haven’t answered the question. After my entire life doing work that was subtle – that didn’t really seem to accomplish anything tangible – arriving in Pisco was an eye opener. The work directly affected the lives of people who really needed the work we were doing. The challenges were huge, but everyone supported each other to reach these goals that looked impossible. Five members of Centro Rubble, none of them construction experts, could take down a two story structure.
I had never experienced anything like it and just couldn’t imagine returning to a “normal” life. So, here I am!
Professional or Other Related Experience
I was a writing major in college, graduating with distinction. I have used these skills in editorial positions and to help friends develop their own writing. I also had leadership experience on a sports team in university that has served me well.
The leadership experience I gained in university leading a sports team wound up to be excellent prep work for my volunteer work. As you can well imagine, leading a group of 40 girls between the ages of 18 and 23 led to ample chaos and catastrophe. I learned early that the more everything seems to be hitting the fan, the calmer the person in charge must be. No problem is actually insurmountable when approached with a clear head.
That experience has proved infinitely useful in disaster response work where Murphy’s law applies. I learned long before arriving in Peru that no matter the problem, there’s always a solution if you stay calm and think the problem through.
I’ve also learned to handle pressure through years of all types of athletic competition, primarily equestrian, where I was ranked very highly in several disciplines.
The writing training I received while getting my degree, and the editorial and marketing experience I have gained working on two magazines, have proven invaluable in my work here at EDV.
Random Fact(s)
I hold the record for the least dignified destruction of an article of clothing while on a work site. I managed to split my pants while working on a roof. I also hold the title of the person who has suffered the greatest number of absolutely stupid injuries - among them stepping on a sea urchin while swimming on my very first day in Pisco. These are, at best, dubious honors.
