by Jeanne Gorman
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Daniel Petracek’s journey from Kansas to Kenya took a little longer than anticipated, but his commitment to serve in the Peace Corps never wavered.
Petracek’s extended journey started at Prince of Peace School in Olathe, where — along with the faithful example of his parents — the seeds of his faith were sown.
After Prince of Peace, Petracek moved on to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park. Although he does not recall thinking about the Peace Corps while at Aquinas, he does vividly recall that everything at the school was calculated to encourage students to do some type of volunteering — to be of service. This need to serve was reinforced in a Catholic social justice course he took at Aquinas, “which set a foundation of wanting to serve others,” he said.
So although he didn’t specifically think about the Peace Corps then, Petracek did start thinking about what he could do to serve others.
After graduating from Aquinas in 2016, Petracek attended the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 2020. While there, Petracek began thinking seriously about joining the Peace Corps. However, his plan to enter the Peace Corps right after graduation was derailed by Covid. When things calmed down, he applied again in 2024. He believes his desire to serve others “was placed in his heart by God,” even if he didn’t initially realize it.
Petracek had three prime reasons for choosing the Peace Corps:
• The 27-month commitment interested him, as it gave him time to get to know a new culture. In fact, in the first year, he was just figuring things out, while in the second year, he learned how to make a real impact.
• Joining the Peace Corps would get him out of his comfort zone, and he could branch out more in a different country and culture, which he said has been “eye-opening.”
• The Peace Corps would challenge him and help him grow as a person.
Petracek applied to go wherever assigned by the Peace Corps. He was sent to Kenya and that has proven a good fit.
“It afforded me a unique opportunity to be able to meet a whole different community and incorporate into it — which is scary but fulfilling,” he said.
Certainly, the Kenyan community he was assigned to serve has benefited greatly from Petracek’s presence as well. He teaches math and physics in a public high school. Usually there are 45-60 students in his classes — boys and girls. Most have a good work ethic. He speaks English when teaching, but has learned some Swahili, the native tongue, as well as a few words of the local dialect. About 20% of his students go on to university. During his time there, he recognized a serious need for laboratory equipment to complement their learning and then raised the funds for the needed lab equipment.
Petracek said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps. It’s enabled him to better understand how a vast number of people in the world live compared to Johnson County, Kansas.
But he’s also observed that “cultural differences may be very great. But at the same time, that has helped me to see the humanity in everyone and how we’re all made in God’s likeness.”
Although challenging, Petracek continues to practice his Catholic faith while in Kenya, albeit under circumstances very different from here. There are very large (geographically speaking) parishes and too few priests to minister to everyone. The sole church is too far away to attend for most people.
Accordingly, satellite sites are staffed by a deacon or lay minister, who conducts a prayer service in the weeks no priest visits. But sadly, then, there is no Eucharist.
Petracek will complete his service in Kenya in November of this year and is not certain where his journey will take him after that.
Regardless, he said, he’s been blessed by his service in the Peace Corps.
