The Peace Corps, founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, dedicates itself to the cause of world peace and friendship. More than 7,500 volunteers for the Peace Corps help 71 countries all over the world with issues ranging from HIV/AIDS awareness to information technology.

Cooke, a Silver Spring native who graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1999, traveled to Niger Jan. 6 to serve that country as an environmental education volunteer on a two-year program. Niger, a country located in West Africa, has many environmental issues including deforestation, desertification, endangered wildlife, poor sewage and a lack of clean water. A large country, its area is about 489,200 square miles, a bit more than twice the size of Texas.

Much of her service will entail educating youth and community groups about environmentally healthy practices. This involves creating and instituting curriculum dealing with the environment to be taught in organized and less formal educational settings and also educating local families on creating healthier lifestyles for themselves.

Cooke chose to volunteer in Niger because she would have never had an opportunity to go there otherwise, and because it was relatively unknown to Americans.

"I just figure of all the places they could have sent me, Africa is one that I certainly would not get back to," Cooke said before she embarked on her journey. "And, also, I think it's the place which is most neglected by American foreign policy, American foreign aid. And, it's just in general for such a large place, it's out of the world's attention most of the time."

Cooke will bring more attention to that area of the world when she returns home and shares her stories with people. Especially with her students, if she decides to continue teaching. On her interest in education, Cooke explained, "I've been working with kids for the last four years or so, and I've really enjoyed it." She worked in the aftercare program at Grace Episcopal School in Manhattan with first- and second-graders for the last four years.

"Teaching was what I was going to do when I applied to the Peace Corps. And then I just decided I was going to do it in a more challenging setting," she said.

So what exactly lies ahead for Cooke? According to Sara Johnston, a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in West Africa, "she can expect that everything will probably be different than she expects it will be."

Michael O'Neill, who worked for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and lives in Silver Spring, said that Cooke needs to go there with an open mind. "Part of it is if you try to expect too much, you're setting yourself up," O'Neill said.

You have to "be flexible," said Andrea Baranick, who volunteered her time in Namibia and now lives in Takoma Park. "You just never know what's going to happen, and you don't know what's around the next corner," she explained.

Aaron Brownell, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal and lives in Silver Spring, stressed the need for patience. "It's really a requirement [in Africa]," he said. "There's day-to-day challenges, and you've got to just deal with those challenges."

Brownell also said that Cooke should remember that "success" is a relative term. "I mean there were days when I was in Senegal that I didn't feel I was getting anywhere. And you just have to remember that you are in these conditions where it is challenging, and things don't always go in the direction you want them to."

He added, "Don't think you're going to be going over there to change the world. But, take pride in the accomplishments that she makes even if they might seem small. You know, they are huge accomplishments."

O'Neill explained how she needs to be cautious when dealing with other people in a foreign land. But, he said, "At the end of the day developing relationships is the best part of the work." This was especially true for O'Neill, who met his wife while working in Sierra Leone.

Cooke, who graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 2003, is not quite sure what she will get out of the Peace Corps experience, but she knows she will definitely gain something.

"I think it's going to be a tremendous character-building experience just in terms of the fact that there's probably nowhere more different than Maryland or New York that I could go to live right now," she says. "I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to get out of it, but I know I'm definitely going to get something. It's definitely going to be different."

Cooke may be correct in thinking that the experience will be important because many of the returned Peace Corps volunteers say they gained a new perspective.

"I learned more about myself and what my limitations and capacities were. I also learned a lot about a different way of looking at the world," explained O'Neill.

Brownell thought the experience was beneficial.

"I really feel like I gained so much. A lot of times I feel like I gained more from my experience than I gave," he said. "I think friendship--I gained a lot of friends. I gained a new perspective, a new reality, you know, a different way of living."

Baranick thought the good outweighed the bad. She also said she gained a new insight. "Seeing all the cultural differences and barriers that other people have. Things that Americans are naturally born with, the things that they can do that other people don't have the options [to do]."

Johnston strongly believed that the experience was worth it. "It's extraordinarily rewarding. I often say that I learned more from the people than they probably learned from me. It was a phenomenal experience," Johnston said.

For more information on the Peace Corps, call 1-800-424-8580 or visit www.peacecorps.gov.