Clinton Graduate Enters The Peace Corps

Growing up in Clinton, Wiley Gifford competed on a club ski race team based at Woods Valley.

That participation helped her represent Cornell University on their club ski team after she graduated from Clinton Central School in 2020.

It’s also helped shape the next couple of years of her life.

Gifford leaves this week to begin a two-year commitment as a member of the Peace Corps.

After three months of training, she will be assigned to a village in Nepal as a community forest and environment advocate.

One of her Woods Valley ski coaches had been a Peace Corps volunteer, serving in Honduras.

“It’s an altruistic, amazing organization,’’ Gifford said.

Her degree from Cornell is in environmental sustainability and renewable energy.

As she worked her way through Clinton and then Cornell, the idea of bringing her passion for preserving the environment and the Peace Corp had her wondering if the two could be combined.

“Joining the Peace Corps allows me to apply my background in environmental leadership, while supporting communities that are actively working to adapt and build resilience. It feels like the right moment, and the right place, to make a tangible difference,” Gifford said.

After college, she worked for a law firm in New Jersey that focuses on righting climate injustice.

Gifford hopes to attend law school to follow along those lines.

Her application process for the Peace Corps began in November 2024.

First step ...