Retiree on a J1: One Tralee woman's journey to America on a student visa at 66

Fiona Griffin always wanted to travel and work abroad - so when she retired in April, what better time was there to head to America to work with young people at a Wisconsin summer camp?

Mon, 20 Jun, 2022 - 17:58

Mike McGrath Bryan

Life is full of various points and junctures where you look back and wonder at what might have been, the things you wanted to do, where else things might have ended up but for events, circumstances and intangibles. Would things be any different? Would I be any different?

One person who wasn’t content to leave long-held ambitions on the back-burner any longer is former montessori teacher (and current wedding celebrant) Fiona Griffin, who retired this past April at the age of 66.

With the world her oyster, and an itch to take in some of the world after a lifetime of caring, community work, outreach and parenting, she set her sights on a dream of hers - living and working abroad - in the grandest of fashions: heading to America.

Fiona Griffin's J1 visa, after approval from the US Embassy in Ireland

“It's been something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager, but then I met my husband, fell in love, and raised four children, so that ruled out anything like this”, she says over the phone. “So when I was finally starting to accept that I had to retire in April this year, I said, 'okay, what can I do now, what adventures can I have, where can I go?'.

“Miss Google was very, very helpful - she led me to an organization called Camp Leaders, which is an agency that places staff in summer camps in the States. So the first thing I did was email them and ask about my age, and they had no problem at all, the American camps take staff of older ages as well.

“I applied to do Camp Leaders, and people from Clearwater Camp, in Minocqua, northern Wisconsin, contacted me and looked for more information, interviewed me on Zoom, and then offered me a position. They told me [my experience] was quite impressive, and they said I'd love to offer to attend over the summer period.”

Fiona Griffin at Gatwick Airport, London, on her way to the States

The camp's international partners sponsored Fiona to apply for a J1 visa to head across the ocean to America, which necessitated queueing alongside young postgrads nervously waiting for clearance ahead of their own American odysseys. While the age gap was pause for a chuckle, talking about it leads to discussing Fiona’s motivation for taking the big leap.

“My mother went into a nursing home in March, and then a family member was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in December. Very, very, difficult [for the family], coming to terms with that. I looked around and I said, ‘if you're not going to do it now, you'll never go and do it’ - because nobody knows what tomorrow brings.”

The map of Clearwater Camp, Minocqua, Wisconsin, where Fiona will be working this summer

Planning a trip to the States is one thing - getting out there on long-haul flights, and travelling out to Camp Clearwater was quite another. Fiona is currently at the camp, where young girls between the ages of eight and 16 will have the summer to engage in outdoor activities and other exercises in a quiet, rural setting. Having spent a lifetime in caring professions and amid her family, it’s the perfect arrangement for Fiona to share her experience.

“I'm looking forward to it, because I'm a montessori teacher by profession, and I ran my own montessori school for 30 years in Tralee. I love children, I have five grandchildren, two boys, nine and four, and I've triplet granddaughters in Dublin, they're two and a half. I spend as much time as possible with them, up and down to Dublin and Cork very regularly to spend time with them. I am somebody who always loved working with children, and I've followed that dream as well.”

Fiona has been documenting her journey on Instagram - and wider family and friends alike have been willing Fiona along all the way. It’s a way for her to let her loved ones see the splendour of her surroundings in real-time - but owing to camp rules, there won’t be a preponderance of posting from the site itself, as the focus is on enjoying the sights and sounds of nearby Lake Tomahawk.

“They have no access to communication, other than letter writing, and receiving letters from their families, which I love. I don't love it for myself, but it's wonderful, because we're so attached to our phones. I know I'm going to struggle when the campers arrive, the phone can't be in my back pocket. I ring my mother on FaceTime when one of my siblings is with her, so we can see each other, which is wonderful - and I am missing home, my children, my grandchildren, my mum.”

Fiona Griffin with staff at Camp Clearwater

Fiona is due back from her American odyssey in August - and though thoughts of the next adventure are no doubt on her mind, she has her mind set on more immediate engagements.

“I'm here at camp until mid-August, and then I'm taking a week down in Green Bay with a couple my brother met in Scotland, he was a driver for CIE Tours. He told them about me when he heard they were from Wisconsin. And they have been absolutely amazing, they text me a couple of times a week, collected me from the airport and dropped me up. We're going to an area called Door County in Wisconsin for a couple of nights, and then we'll be going to an Irish music festival. Then I'm flying home because I have a wedding ceremony in Killarney on September 2, and I have to prepare for that!”