21-Year-Old Ashburn Native Joins Peace Corps in Cambodia

Shreya Sharma, 21, of Ashburn, will depart for Cambodia July 10 to train as an English education volunteer with the Peace Corps. Her uncle previously served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon and her cousin currently serves in Ghana.

Sharma will live with a host family for the first three months where she will learn to speak Khmer and become immersed in the Cambodian culture. She will then be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Cambodia where she will live and work for the next two years.

Sharma is one of 267 Virginia residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 7,241 Virginia residents who have served since 1961, according to a release. Sharma will join 100 other volunteers in Cambodia working in the areas of education and heath. More than 300 volunteers have served in Cambodia since the program began in 2007.

“I was attracted to the Peace Corps, because it is an opportunity to live and work in a place that is very different from what I am used to. I want to challenge myself and have a better understanding of the many different types of people in this world,” said Sharma. “I am looking forward to making a difference in the community that I live and work in while learning more about myself throughout the entire process.”