As an Eagle Scout, Travis Hellstrom helped build a 45-seat amphitheater at his alma mater Fred T. Foard High School so teachers could give lessons outside.  Now, he’s preparing to enter to Peace Corps for a two-year mission in Mongolia.

“The neatest thing about it is it teaches you how much you are capable of,” he said.  “If you can build an amphitheater, there is so much more you can do and learn.”

He’ll have the opportunity to do just that during his mission.

The Peace Corps is a government agency, developed in 1960 by President John F. Kennedy dedicated to world peace and friendship.  The Corps’ mission is to help developing countries meet their needs for trained men and women while promoting more understanding between other nationalities.

He received his invitation to serve in Mongolia on Dec. 18, seven months after he graduated from Campbell University with a degree in biology and concentration on pre-medicine.  

“I was thinking about med school when I got into college…originally it was just to help people, then I realized you can help people in many ways, not just through medicine,” he said.

Hellstrom, 22, will begin his mission there on June 2, where he will serve as a health extension volunteer.  After he completes three months of training, he’ll be assigned to a city.

While there, he will help create health education programs and train local health volunteers to work in schools and communities.  He will also organize seminars for local health educators and participate in the Peace Corps initiative to teach life skills to teachers and students.

The Peace Corps first piqued his interest as a young child.  Later, as a sophomore in college, he attended a Peace Corps volunteer meeting in held in Raleigh, which helped solidify his decision to apply.

“I want to learn more about international development and foreign service,” Hellstrom said.

He applied in February 2007 and began receiving invitations to serve in May.  He turned down opportunities to serve in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.  

Hellstrom said he still plans on attending graduate school and pursuing medical school, but he hopes the Peace Corps will help him narrow down his options to figure out exactly what he wants to do.

While in Mongolia, he hopes that he’ll also learn about the country’s government. Hellstrom met a few people involved in the foreign service, which sparked his interest in politics and the United Nations.

“I’d like to see what jobs are available (in politics) and see if I want to do that.”

In preparation for service, Hellstrom said he has spent a lot of time talking with other Peace Corps volunteers who have already returned from their missions.  Their advice: don’t come with any expectations so that he is more open to the experience and better able to appreciate it.

The recent snow also gave Hellstrom an early taste of what the next two years of his life will be like. He said in Mongolia, the winter and temperatures rarely climb above freezing.  Snow is still something the Melbourne, Fla. native has been adjusting to since he moved to Catawba County at 15.

“The snow is a nice transition into that,” he said.

Friends and family are also a priority right now knowing that he won’t be able to see them for a long time.  He’s been spending a lot of time at home with his parents and siblings in between shifts at Pier 1 Imports and substitute teaching for Catawba County Schools.

Luckily, he said Peace Corps volunteers are given a cell phone, so he’ll be able to keep in touch that way and through the Internet.

In the end, he said the sacrifices will be worth it.

“I look forward to the opportunity to use my knowledge, experiences and skills to help people on the other side of the world,” Hellstrom said.  “I am very excited.”