THE DAILY INDEPENDENT (RIDGECREST) -- “Growing up and living in a small desert town like Ridgecrest limited my worldview and perspective of what international communities around the globe are actually going through,” Whiteley said. “In addition, I studied linguistics in university, so the combination of wanting to expand my worldview and also immerse myself in a culture enough to actually experience their sociolinguistic environment was super motivating for me.”
Whiteley attended San Francisco State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics in December 2018. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, she worked for nearly two years as a purchasing agent intern at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. She also volunteered in an adult English as a second language course at SFSU and worked as a swim instructor for two years.