I had always been interested in the Peace Corp. My ideal job was one in which I could change the world and become the next Mother Theresa.

I had also always wanted to study abroad. My first two years of college were devoted to discovering the perfect way to see the world while earning a degree. This obsession lead to my becoming a Spanish/Russian major whose philosophy remained "Save the World." Unfortunately, my goal of studying in Barcelona, Spain, was never realized. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to work two summers with two orphanages in northern Russia immediately prior to and after the fall of the Soviet empire. Needless to say, these months did not taint my attitude that I could, and would, make a difference in someone's life.

Like all other college seniors, I engaged in a job search that consumed all my free time. I encountered a VISTA recruiter at a job fair while searching for the Peace Corps recruiter. I quickly changed my mind about serving abroad when it reality hit me and I, for the first time, realized that poverty issues were literally in my own backyard.

VISTA has been a growing experience for me. I have delved into my own self, while helping others explore their options. VISTA is a cause I will always continue to champion, just as I will forever work towards the understanding of the Russian children's system by the American people.

I experienced culture shock as I never knew it in Russia when I arrived in Camp Verde, AZ, for my year working in adult education in rural Yavapai County. I grew up and attended college in Arizona, but never had experienced rural Arizona.

The high desert meets the Magellan Rim that divides the state to form the Verde Valley, in which one finds the small towns of Camp Verde, Risrock, Lake Montezuma, Clarkdale, McGuireville, Cornville, and the Village of Oak Creek. The Verde Valley can boast of the beautiful red rocks of Sedona and ghost town Jerome and still support the booming metropolis of Cottonwood (population 20,000).

I loved my guest house on the country dirt road. My quarters were attached to the family "barn," in which were also located the tack room and several horse trailers, motor homes and tractors. Outside my door were the in-bloom rose bushes and the horse corrals. Sadly to say, I never learned to ride.

My first impression of Camp Verde was "small." I wondered how anything was ever accomplished when I continually encountered shops closed three hours for lunch and post-its on store doors announcing that the owner "had to pick the kids up from school today - come back tomorrow."

I could never complain about the people though. Such a variety of folks living so close together, I've never encountered. The students of the adult literacy programs were the diamonds in the rough. I became very involved with several students' lives, to the point that I had to de-tangle myself carefully and learn how to keep a distance. Lesson learned.

I have a deep admiration for those struggling in a small town to better their lives. There are no large businesses to sponsor a company work literacy class; no public transportation systems; no abundance of jobs; no local DES office; no homeless shelter; no technical training programs or schools; not even a community college within 20-30 miles.

There are service clubs; churches; the Chamber of Commerce; Parks and Recreation programs and the ever-so-important public library. People are born with naturally good hearts, and when there is a need in a small town, the word gets out, and everyone has something to add to the cause.

The Friends of the Camp Verde Library organization is an energetic, vivacious group of mostly women who loved reading and believed every single member of their community should learn to read and have the opportunity to read. This organization founded the Camp Verde Adult Reading Program in 1986 to combat illiteracy right in their own small town of 6,000. The Reading Program served 93 adult last year, and has many, many more to reach.

Frank came to the Program when he moved to a section of Camp Verde named "Verde Lakes" to live with his parents and little son. We first met Frank when he arrived for his assessment of reading skills with Fay Lloyd. The decision was made that he would come work on his writing skills on the computer as well as work bi-weekly one-on-one with his tutor. Frank, with his adorable five-year-old son continually in tow, has already achieved wonderful results in reading.

Frank is a sufferer of epilepsy. Two weeks after we were first introduced to Frank, he had brain surgery. He explained to us the procedure, including the possibility of losing his memory along with other functions. One week after the operation, Frank walked back into the office bearing the scars and staples from the surgery. His seizures were gone for eight months, a miracle for Frank and his family. Unfortunately, they have now returned.

I am not referring to what I immediately visualize when I recall Frank - a young slender man who constantly shed his shirt to show off arms bearing army tattoos. Instead, I have been witness to the sheer naked determination that Frank possesses in overcoming his fear of epilepsy, of the operation, and of his inability to read.

Sue owns goats. She is a delightful woman, 300-plus pounds on a short frame. Her great love is reserved for her goats, especially for her CreamPuff, whom she has described in many poems and short stories. Sue has a great heart. She continually has relatives or people off the street housed in her tiny mobile home, or in her front yard. No one is denied at Sue's house. In addition, she takes care of the children whose parents are forced to work at jobs which do not pay enough to pay a sitter. Many times Sue would charge into the Reading Room with three or four children in tow, and those three or four children would gladly become my charges for the duration of Sue's lesson in order for her to have the opportunity to meet with her tutor and to do something for herself.

Both Frank and Sue advanced to the level that they were able to enter 3,000-word essays in a "Celebrate Literacy" writing contest. They struggled with their tutors to understand the reasoning behind creating an outline PRIOR to writing; they spent extra hours in front of the computer screen typing their own words into short stories; they slaved over the small grammar corrections. Proudly, the two (almost) finished works were tucked into the envelope and sent off at 4:55 PM on the day they were due.

To everyone's horror, the writing contest was canceled. After almost a month of listening to the million ways Sue and Frank were going to spend the $50 first-place award, we were faced with the dilemma of how to break the news. Surprisingly, both students were not terribly disappointed, but remained proud that each had completed a 3,000-word essay for the first time.

There are many special stories and very special students. I learned that the adult students knew more about certain aspects of life than I did, and they had much they could teach me. I now know what prison is like from the standpoint of a 25-year-old female who stole a truck and devoted a good 10 years of her life to drugs and alcohol. I have heard how it feels to stand on the side of the freeway with four children and hitchhike because there is no other way to get to Prescott to visit a sick grandmother. I have seen the fierce concentration of a mentally challenged adult attempting to read a newspaper. I have smelled a man who put aside his pride and met his tutor after working 12-hour days under the blazing Arizona sun. I have felt, through these unique individuals, the pain, terror, humiliation, determination and pride of learning to read as an adult.