Maxine Bouldin, 23, of McMinnville has been accepted into the Peace Corps and she departed for Moldova on June 3 to begin training as an organizational development facilitator volunteer.

“My parents are two of the most generous and well-traveled people I know,” said Bouldin. “They taught me by word and example to appreciate the world and to do my best to make it a better place for everyone. I have always admired Peace Corps and its mission, and this opportunity will afford me invaluable life and professional experience.”

Maxine is the daughter of Karen and Floyd Bouldin of McMinnville, and she’s a graduate of Warren County High School. She attended Belmont University in Nashville where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in religion and the arts, with a minor in music business in December 2017.

Prior to joining the Peace Corps, she interned with Songs Against Slavery, was a tutor at Nations Ministry Center, and was an office assistant at Northwestern Mutual.

During the first three months of her service, Bouldin will live with a host family in Moldova to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist her community, Bouldin will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Moldova, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.

Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe that’s bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, south and east. Its constitution was established in 1994 as a democratic republic.

“I hope to gain organizational development and international development skills that will make me a competitive candidate for nonprofit or social enterprise work when I return to the U.S.,” said Bouldin. “It has always been a personal goal of mine to learn a second language. I am so excited to learn Romanian!”

Bouldin joins 82 Tennessee residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 1,973 Tennessee residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. There are eight Belmont University alumni currently volunteering in countries around the world, and more than 30 alumni have served abroad since 1961.

There are more than 100 volunteers in Moldova working with their communities on projects in education, health and community economic development. 

The Peace Corps sends Americans with a passion for service abroad on behalf of the United States to work with communities and create lasting change. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 235,000 Americans of all ages have served in 141 countries worldwide.