Former Oakmont teacher on Peace Corps mission - here's why he's going to Nepal

A former teacher at Oakmont Regional High School will spend the next several months in Nepal sharing his knowledge and expertise with local educators.

Jeffrey Aubuchon, who graduated from the school in 1998, has accepted a short-term school leader position in the Peace Corps Response volunteer program. Utilizing his skills as an educator and librarian, Aubuchon will mentor and coach Nepali high school teachers to improve their classroom practice with a focus on using educational technology.

Speaking from the Colonial Hotel in Gardner a few hours before he headed to Logan Airport to board a 20-hour flight to Nepal, Aubuchon, who is one of three educators participating in the program, said he was told by a Peace Corps representative that he would be assigned to a site near a rural high school an hour or two outside of the country’s capital, Kathmandu.

“The country director for the Peace Corps said they’ve chosen three sites, and each site has some independent living situations, so some of us will have an apartment, some of us will have a stand-along house. He said that none of them have a shower and none of them have a flush toilet,” Aubuchon said. “They won’t decide who goes to which site until we get there on Monday.”

Aubuchon looking forward to sharing knowledge, offering encouragement

Aubuchon, 43, said he was looking forward to meeting Nepali educators and encouraging them to continue with the practices they were already using that have proven to be successful.

“As a teacher myself, the most stressful thing is when a stranger comes into my classroom and scrutinizes what I do,” he said. “So I really want to send the message that ‘Hey, you’re doing this really well. This is the same sort of thing we do in the US.’”

Aubuchon would also focus on the current push from the government in Nepal to integrate technology into all classrooms in the country.

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“We were told in a call that technology in this sense might even be as basic as a VHS tape and a VCR player, or it could be smartboards and iPads and whatever, but we were told to expect a wide range of tools and capabilities,” he said.

Because the PCR program required a shorter commitment than the traditional Peace Corps, Aubuchon said he was not required to learn Nepali to participate.

“All the positions assume that your counterparts will speak English, so I can hit the ground running,” he said. “But that’s not going to help me in the village, so that will be a really quick self-study for day-to-day life – hailing a taxi, finding directions, and asking questions.”

Peace Corps program has Gardner connection

The history of the PCR program has a local connection. The program, which was originally named Crisis Corps, was established by former Peace Corps Director – and Gardner native – Mark Gearan in 1996 as a way to harness the expertise of returning volunteers in the face of natural disasters. Unlike the traditional two-year program, PCR is aimed at meeting specific needs of partners in developing countries with seasoned professionals in the areas of education, small business development, and agriculture.

“PCR is a shorter commitment for mid-career professionals who have a wealth of experience in their particular field,” Aubuchon said. “Traditional Peace Corps aims to recruit college grads or people with general skills.”

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Aubuchon, who has taught at Mount Wachusett Community College and Fitchburg State University over his 22-year career, is no stranger to the Peace Corps. He first volunteered in 2007 and spent a year as a Peace Corps Health Educator among the Ait Atta indigenous people of remote southern Morocco.

“I graduated from college in 2002 and I was very fortunate to jump right into a teaching job,” he said. “And a couple of years into teaching, I said, ‘Hang on, before I become middle-aged and middle-class, I need to do some adventuring.’ So that led me to the Peace Corps in the first place.”

Aubuchon said he learned a very valuable lesson during his first stint with the Peace Corps.

“You can never listen too much,” he said. “Everyone has something they want to tell you, whether you’re in downtown Gardner or you’re in rural Morocco or Nepal. So listening to someone’s concerns, someone’s hopes, someone’s aspirations – all those things will plant seeds that will bear fruit in the work later on. Never be so busy that you can’t accept a cup of tea from a neighbor.”

Aubuchon’s assignment in Nepal will last through February 2025. He will be posting a weekly blog at jeffreywaubuchon.com and posting photos on Instagram at @JeffreyWAubuchon.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Jeffrey Aubuchon is heading to Nepal with the Peace Corps