Her belief in the importance of volunteer work and a love of travel has played a significant role in the direction Molly Roan '02 has chosen for her life.  "I knew that if I kept putting off the application process for the Peace Corps I would never do it!  Luckily, I made it through the process in just 5 months and for most applicants it can take years."  Molly was drawn to the Peace Corps at age 13 when her sister Tiffany told her about a friend who had signed on for work in Africa.  Twelve years and much preparation later, Molly Roan is living in Ulan Baatar, the capitol city of Mongolia.  With 1.4 million residents, the city referred to by many as "UB" has a population just under half the population of the entire country. 

Molly has been assigned to work with the Community Youth  Development  sector collaborating with several international agencies such as UNICEF, World Vision, and Save the Children.  During her 27 month stay, she will be training family and children social workers as well as school social workers.  Molly is faced with the challenge of helping the trainees understand the tasks that lie ahead of them as Social Work is a new field in Mongolia.  In addition to training social workers, she will be working closely with street children, attempting to reunite them with their families or finding safe shelter for them far away from the harsh realities of living on the street.  The development of a child welfare system rounds out Molly's rigorous job description.

A studio apartment very close to her office is Molly's home for now.  It's getting cold in Mongolia and soon it will be too cold even for snow.  With temperatures remaining below 40 degrees Fahrenheit all winter, Molly is thankful that her studio apartment is within close proximity to her office.  Her hands are raw from doing laundry by hand, but her apartment and pull out sofa are quite comfortable. Food items are not necessarily scarce but things like peanut butter and cheese are rare and expensive, especially on Molly's modest salary of 4 dollars per day.

After completing her assignment in Ulan Baatar and a brief adventure in Asia, Molly hopes to find similar work in Mongolia or the United States. Her experiences in Mongolia and love for working with children will serve her well in reaching her goal of rising through the ranks of the Peace Corps or other humanitarian organizations.

Molly graduated from Valwood in 2002 and went on to receive a degree in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy and French from the University of Vermont.  She holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina.