Thank you to all the kind readers who not only wrote to tell me how much you enjoyed last week’s article, but also to give me 8 more suggestions for MHS grads to contact. I’ve made initial contacts to all and am looking forward to sharing the lives of our hometown “kids!”
Today I’ll introduce you to Anna Mahoney—Class of 2018—in her own words….After graduating from MHS, I spent an extra year of high school in Brussels, Belgium with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. While there I lived with two French-speaking host families, went to a French-speaking school with other Belgians, and was able to be in a community choir. This experience was absolutely incredible and has been very influential in helping me make decisions about my future.
After that year, I came back to the States where from August until I started college, I lived with my aunt in California as a live-in nanny, babysat for other families and taught swimming lessons. During COVID, I had the good fortune to come back to Menomonie and live with my family for 3 months.
In the fall of 2019 I started school at Community College of San Mateo, located in the Bay Area of California. Here, in the winter of 2021, I earned an Associate Degrees in both Sociology and Interdisciplinary Studies: Contemporary Issues. I was also very active in the student association and a music club called the More Than Music Club which my friend and I founded where students gave concerts at nursing homes.
From here I transferred to California State Long Beach and finished school in August of 2024 with Bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Sociology. While in college at Long Beach, I worked as a nanny, waiter and a community outreach and advocacy facilitator with Food Finders, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating food waste, hunger and improving nutrition in communities in need. I learned a lot about advocacy, food systems, community development and grassroots organizations. This job was initially a 450-hour paid internship through College Corps, and I was then invited to be a staff member before I started my next adventure.
My goal? I just really hoped to make a positive impact on my community. After graduating from college, it was time for another adventure after lots of hard work and saving up.
Currently I am working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I started off in Peru and Ecuador for a total of 6 months. For the first 2.5 months I volunteered for Hilo Rojo, a nontraditional school for children in need in Trujillo, Peru. Here I taught English, helped work on a project to get kids glasses, did volunteer coordinating work, traveled and spent time with friends.
After finishing my time with Hilo Rojo, I traveled around to see the other amazing sites in Peru for another month, either alone or with friends. Then I came back to Ecuador for a total of 2.5 months. In the last month and a half in Ecuador, I visited the Amazon with a Waorani family, where I helped out with their tour agency. While staying with them, there was a large national protest where I was able to work with a nonprofit journalism organization and photographed the protest. This was probably one of the most impactful times of my life. I learned about many other cultures; about journalism, politics, social issues and the power of the people.
In March 2025, I embarked on my biggest journey yet – the Peace Corps in Guatemala. Since March I have been a Food Security Extension Facilitator, which is part of the Rural Extension program working with local farmers and womens groups in the community. For the first 2.5 months I did in-service training with the other amazing volunteers, while living with a wonderful host mom and grandma.
In May we learned where we would be living next. A week later I was dropped off here at my permanent 2-year site, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Sacatapequez, Guatemala. I live with a host family (mom, dad and 2 younger sisters). I work with the Ministry of Agriculture Rural Outreach Team. My work is first and foremost to integrate as best as I can, so right now I am meeting new people and organizations. I’m taking lessons to learn the native language, Kachiquel, which over 90% of the population speaks along with Spanish.
Apart from that, our main goal is to help improve food security in our community; facilitate group and community development, empower women, youth and indigenous communities and engage in cultural exchange. I’m on month one of my 2-year commitment so am still mostly learning and trying to get a better grasp of the community, their assets and needs, to learn how I can most effectively use my time and make the best and most sustainable impact.
So far, I’ve met with some women’s groups (we call CADERS) where we made soaps, detergents, or shampoos, helped create small community gardens, attended community meetings and agricultural fairs and helped vaccinate chickens. I’m interested in a lot of different areas related to social issues, community outreach and community development so have thought about jobs from research, nonprofit or advocacy work, and journalism to US AID (U.S. Agency for International Development). I’m thinking of attending grad school after my Peace Corps stint, if it makes sense for my decided career path (and if I can get a really good scholarship through the Peace Corps—“heehee”). We will see where life takes me!
Judy Foust is a retired longtime 7th Grade Reading Specialist at Menomonie Middle School. To submit info to her or to request an interview she may be contacted at [email protected]
