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'Late Bloomer' Juggled Jobs

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

Updated: 01/10/2008 05:34 pm

SOUTH TAMPA - Michael Sheehan graduated from law school at 24, traveled a bit and worked a smorgasbord of odd jobs, including nanny, usher at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and manager of the Joe Abrahams Fitness and Wellness Center at Ballast Point.

He was married and divorced before leaving for the Peace Corps in August 1995.

At age 35 he spent six months in training and service in Guatemala before heading to El Salvador, where he stayed until September 1997.

As an agroforestry volunteer, Sheehan tried to reduce the use of mangroves for construction and firewood by promoting multiple-use trees and planting tree farms. He helped farmers build irrigation systems, was the first stop for many for health care (he taught advanced first aid courses at the American Red Cross before joining the Peace Corps), vaccinated chickens and castrated pigs.

He also taught map-reading skills, juggling and pest management.

Now semiretired, Sheehan is a substitute teacher at schools including Grady, Gorrie and Tinker elementary schools.

Why did you join the Peace Corps?

I'd always wanted to do it, but I was a late bloomer. After college, I didn't have that kind of chutzpa. It took another decade.

What did the Salvadoran people think of you?

They called me Don Miguel. I was known as the medicine man. (At 6-foot-4, Sheehan didn't blend in.)

How did the Peace Corps affect your life?

In a sense, it affected my life before Peace Corps. Knowing I wanted to do that, I decided to get experience in fields I thought would be useful.

What is the best thing about El Salvador?

The feeling of community and living in an environment where what you could create with your own two hands, and what you could do to help your neighbor mattered more than what you owned.

What is the worst thing about El Salvador?

They see all the toys that people in the United States have and think that is great, but they don't realize how empty life can be living for the next new gadget or fad. Currently, they have an existence that is close to paradise, with strong family and community ties and an understanding of the spiritual satisfaction of creating your own food and tools with your own hands.

What is your best memory from El Salvador?

When a transient drunk with a machete came to my house demanding money, my neighbors, old and young, men and women, all came to my aid and drove the man away explaining I was not a foreigner, I was a member of the village. I have never felt that safe in the United States.

Would you recommend the Peace Corps to others?

I would recommend it to people who want to make a difference and who want to show the world that Americans go abroad to do more than make war or buy souvenirs. Join Peace Corps if you think you can be a goodwill ambassador for the United States.

Jamie Pilarczyk

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