Globetrotting Couple Won't Let Passports Expire

It was a match made in Mathias Hall. Gabriele Prochaska '86 and Scott Desmarais '86 knew they had something special from the day they met as sophomores. By the time they graduated, they were married and plotting a life of travel and learning together. A few short months after Commencement, the couple found themselves in Botswana working in the Peace Corps, and they've barely stopped globetrotting since.

Prochaska, a biology major, taught science classes in Botswana. During college, she had become interested in how different parts of the developing world tailored education to their needs, and in Africa she got to see it in action. "In sub-Saharan Africa, much of biology is public health. It has very practical applications. It was less of a theoretical pursuit," says Prochaska.

After their Peace Corps stint, the couple ended up in Zaire with their new baby. Desmarais worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he applied his political science and economics double major to the real world, overseeing a $30 million fund for agriculture, transportation, and public health projects as well as negotiating bilateral debt accords.

After 3-1/2 years, the couple returned to the States to stock up on education. Prochaska got her master's in public health. Desmarais earned an MBA from the Wharton School and a master's in international relations, which led to a job at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Between the second helping of degrees and the new job, the family never unpacked its bags for long. "Over a 10-year time frame, we lived in about eight houses," says Desmarais.

Eventually, Desmarais' new job led them to a four-year stay in Indonesia. Prochaska worked on public health issues there, visiting and inspecting local clinics. Desmarais traveled all over the Far East and South Pacific on BCG business. In 2001, BCG transferred Desmarais to Buenos Aires. The family spent a year there, but left as the Argentinean economy crashed.

Today, Desmarais and Prochaska are taking some time off from travel and living in Crested Butte, Colo., with their kids, the oldest of whom is now in high school. But don't count on them staying put for long.

"I think there will always be a part of us that is looking for that next adventure," says Desmarais. He wants to get involved in building up the private sector in developing countries, and perhaps returning to the Peace Corps as a country director.

Prochaska agrees that the family won't be letting their passports expire any time soon. "Will we go again? You bet!"

- Peter Rice '05

Georgianne Preskar Rollman '73
Gabriele Prochaska '86 & Scott Desmarais '86
Kate Vorhees '96
Scott McLeod '71
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