Transitioning from the Peace Corps to RSPH by Samantha Kurtz

My name is Samantha Kurtz (Sam), and I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) from Peace Corps Uganda. From July 2023 to July 2025, I served as a Community Health Educator in Kamuli District, located in Central East Uganda. I primarily aided individuals living with HIV, as well as young mothers and their children. During my service, I learned about cultural humility firsthand through the lens of the real-world impact of limited infrastructure/resources. What rose to the top for me is how social norms can dictate how health interventions are incorporated into a community. Throughout my tenure, I experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my life. As time grew closer to the end of my service, I began to feel quite conflicted about leaving. Being that the vast majority of my cohort were fairly recent college grads, they were particularly focused on discussing the next thing that each of us was intending to do post-service. For me, it was transitioning to RSPH as a Global Health student. I really didn’t know what to expect after being out of the country for two years. What social media, politics, culture, and more had I missed while I was overseas? Would I have the space to speak about and process my incredibly transformative experience, and simultaneously find common ground with my peers who never experienced anything comparable themselves?

I won’t lie. The transition has not been the easiest. There are times when I am reminded of moments during service that were challenging or sad. I have had to adjust to the fast pace of the U.S., as well as the cultural norm of personal independence and achievement. Establishments like grocery stores and department stores underscore the vast amount of choice we have in America, and the pervasive culture surrounding excess and consumerism. It’s a lot to readjust to as I navigate this new phase of my journey.

Coming to RSPH has been a significant highlight of my transition back. I quickly shifted from Uganda to my home state of New Jersey and then here to Atlanta in the span of three weeks. I quickly connected with seven other RPCVs at Rollins who could relate to my experiences, bonded with close friends who were interested in hearing about my experiences, and students from all around the world who had such different experiences from my own. Am I still processing my experience? Most definitely, and I think I will be for the rest of my life. But I am so grateful to be thrown back into structure after having limited structure for such a long time. I truly believe that it is much harder to have nothing to do than to be consistently busy. This is not to infer that I had nothing to do while abroad, but I have never had so much free time on my hands before. I also feel like RSPH has given me an environment where I’m surrounded by people who want to listen and value various experiences within the public health field.

For anyone thinking about next steps post-Peace Corps or considering RSPH following service, it is a great place to go following your time abroad. It is a supportive environment with numerous opportunities to further evaluate your niche within the field of public health. There is a clear structure, and you will have a first-world experience that directly pertains to the work that you will mostly do while you are here. Give yourself some grace in return and know that there is a whole network of RPCVs and RSPH alumni/students who are interested in what you learned and your future.