Peace Corps Volunteer Claire Basler-Chang ’22 Broadens Her World View in Belize
Claire Basler-Chang ’22 knew before graduating from Vassar that she wanted to pursue a career in public-interest law. But heading directly to law school didn’t feel like the right move. So the former Brewers volleyball captain decided to join the Peace Corps as a Youth Development Coordinator in Belize, helping elementary schoolers acquire life skills through sports. Along the way, she’s picked up some new abilities of her own.
“It’s really broadened my world view, and I feel really grateful that I get to be a part of something that I found so beneficial as a child—it’s like giving back,” said Basler-Chang, herself an athlete from a very young age. “It’s really great to see the girls grow into themselves and take up space in a really positive way. It’s very fulfilling. I haven’t had experience working with kids at this level before, and it’s amazing.”
Basler-Chang’s assignment is twofold: During the day, she works for the National Sports Council of Belize, which organizes tournaments, camps, and clinics; and in the evenings, she coaches in the national Youth Empowered by Sports (YES) program at a primary school in Corozal, a town near the Mexican border in northern Belize.
“The government of Belize was looking to engage primary-school-age students in more physical activities and the life skills that come with engaging in sports,” she explained. “This project—and the Peace Corp—is very much grassroots led, community based. We are here to engage in projects that the community has asked for and wants and are excited about.” And that, she says, ties in directly with the type of public-interest law she eventually wants to practice. It also builds on the experience she had working for the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety right after graduating from Vassar.
“Working at Everytown as a litigation assistant, I saw from the gun violence survivor community that the most impactful and important changes come by having meaningful relationships and conversations with the people most affected by whatever issue you’re trying to work on,” she explained. “So, coming to the Peace Corps was really an opportunity for me to kind of explore that, and how deepening relationships can lead to these really fruitful projects. And that felt really important to me.”
In order to have the type of deep engagement she was looking for, Basler-Chang needed to become proficient in Spanish. Though she teaches in English, the official language of Belize, all of her students converse primarily in Spanish with some Kriol thrown in. “And you’ll hear all three in one sentence,” she noted. This was one of Basler-Chang’s biggest challenges—she had primarily studied Mandarin.
“The language is really difficult, and I think we also came in the hottest heat wave that Belize had seen in a decade, so it was 103 degrees, no AC, and then I was living in an El Salvadoran refugee village speaking only Spanish, and so it was intense,” recalled Basler-Chang, who arrived in May of 2024 and will stay until July of 2026. “Speaking a different language is just very mentally taxing. It’s exhausting in a way that you don’t realize because you always have to be engaging your brain in a way that’s new and tiring after a long time. But you pick it up really fast! Immersion is the best way to learn.”
Basler-Chang has also picked up some Kriol, especially from texting with her teammates on the local adult volleyball team. And as exotic as all this is, the small, tightly knit community she is now a part of reminds her of Vassar. “It just felt like a very communal, engaging space, recalled Basler-Chang of her college years. “I feel like I had just the most incredible undergraduate experience. I wouldn’t have traded Vassar for anything!”