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“Life is a mystery. I never would have expected to meet my husband while volunteering in the Marshall Islands,” explained Jackie Sudore-Flood, who spent two years on the atoll of Majuro, teaching grade 6 (1995-1997) and met Tim at a barbecue one night and did not see him again for almost two years. Jackie, Tim and their three-and-a-half-year-old son permanently reside in Australia but are currently living in Maryland until the end of 2012. She is very happy being back in the United States after living abroad for over 10 years.

Jackie is an attorney who works for the Australian government and is planning on returning to her Canberra job with the public service in January 2013. She currently works in a small commercial law firm and dedicates time to JVC, specifically working on creating stronger connections with Former JVs.

Cockroaches, squished ants in her bed, eating coconut rice, wearing muumuus, taking bucket showers in the moonlight, washing clothes in a Tinkertoy-like washing machine, teaching 44 sixth graders in one class, sweating profusely, and Sunday night dinners with her JVC community are some of her fonder memories. “I reflect back to my time in Majuro with such clarity – I thought that I was going there to help the Marshallese community and in the end, they ended up teaching/helping me . I am so grateful for that time in my life.”

Traveling and working with multicultural communities has continued to be a significant part of Jackie’s life after JVC. Jackie attended post-graduate school and became an English as a second language teacher after dabbling in marketing. She provided formal education to students in China and Australia for over five years. 

 
Going to law school was one of Jackie’s goals and after realizing that her roots were very well established in Australia, she attended and graduated from the University of Adelaide Law School. Working for the government and focusing on creating a just society through the rule of law allows Jackie to continue to follow principles such as social justice, central to the JVC program.

As far as advice to JVs – “Be where you are when you are there. A clear path will present itself.” Further, Jackie suggests to all JVs to do one thing that scares you every day, in the realm of stretching your boundaries, exploring, looking at a situation from another perspective.