Nicholas Cornfield has been told the island of Santo comes in last academically, among all 75 Marshall Islands.
His goal is to change that, and he has a year to do it.
The Clarkston resident volunteered with WorldTeach, a non-profit, non-governental organization offering educational assistance in developing countries around the world.
“I really believe in education for all,” said Cornfield, in an email from the Marshall Islands.
“With an vast and growing global market captained by those who have a mastery of both English and their native tongue, I wanted to do something to make a place, like the Marshall Islands more approachable to the global job market, as well as consumers, such as tourism.”
The group of 36 volunteers spent a month-long orientation in an elementary school near the capital city of Majuro, sleeping in three rooms on concrete floors, he said.
“My first night here was interesting to say the least,” he said. “We arrived at the airport real late. As we boarded the bus it began to’ rain’ ? back home we would call that a downpour with high probablity of flood.”
“Hot” is another relative term, he learned.
“I had no idea what hot was until I arrived in Majuro,” he said.
“I went to bed that night, sweaty and sandy, wondering what I was thinking doing something like this, all the while the rain thundered down.”
Things were better the next morning, he said.
“I awoke to the same thundering sound of the rain, but gazed out the window only to notice the sun was shining,” he said.
“Not 20 yards from where I was sleeping was the ocean. One of the most gorgous sights on a pristine day. The school I was living in was on 200 feet of beachfront property. And on the other side, not more than 100 yards from the front of the building, is the lagoon.”
Cornfield is now at work in Santo.
“It is spectatular,” he said. “The people are amazing, as is my host family. The water is the clearest you will see anywhere in the world. My school is also right on the beach, as are most places anywhere on the island. I’ve only been here two days but it is great. I am doing well. I like the fact that I can immerse myself into the culture of my island, as well as, when necessary, escape to a lifestyle that more closely resembles my own.”
Cornfield graduated from Oakland University earlier this year with a BA in Political Science. For the past 18 years, he has worked with the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan to raise money and awareness to fight childhood leukemia. He has also served the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen of Detroit through the National Honor Society, and worked with Chinese students, learning English and preparing for the ACT.
‘I enjoy culturally connecting to people,? he said.
WorldTeach,founded by a group of Harvard students in 1986, has placed thousands of volunteer educators throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Pacific.
For more information, check www.worldteach.org.