Office of Service-Learning

PEACE CORPS at BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
February 9-11, 2009

January 16, 2009

Warm Greetings from the Peace Corps Regional Recruiting Office in Chicago!

Thank you for working with your students as they prepare for post-collegiate professional experience. Once again, I am thrilled to work with the BGSU community. As a former university instructor, I respect and commend you for your work. Now, as a recruitment representative for the Peace Corps, I thank you for presenting various options for your students to consider post graduation.

As in the past, we politely request that you assist us in spreading the word about Peace Corps! Only with your continued support we continue to reach and encourage individuals within your community to consider the Peace Corps as a service learning opportunity.

The work of Peace Corps volunteers is diverse and includes a range of programs within education, youth and community development, health, HIV/AIDS prevention, information technology, business development, environment and agriculture, as well as secondary projects initiated by volunteers themselves, such as book drives, school and house construction, community businesses and much more.

• Opportunities in Education, Youth Outreach, Community Development include: Primary Education Teacher Training, Secondary Education English Teacher Training, Secondary Education Mathematics or Science Teaching, Secondary Education English Teaching, Special Education Teacher Training, University English Teaching, Youth Outreach, Community Development, and Sign Language. If you do not have the ability to serve as a Peace Corps Education Volunteer at this time – Consider connecting with a Volunteer through our World Wise Schools program or sharing with your students our Peace Corps {teens} web site!
• Opportunities in Health and HIV/AIDS include: Health Extension, Public Health Education, Water and Sanitation Extension, and HIV/AIDS.
• Opportunities in Business Development and Information Technology include: Business Advising, Business Development, Nongovernmental Organization Development, Urban and Regional Planning, and Information Technology.
• Opportunities in Environment include: Environmental Education and Awareness, Forestry, Parks and Wildlife, and Environmental and Water Resources Engineering.
• Opportunities in Agriculture include: Agroforestry, Applied Agriculture, Farm Management and Agribusiness, and Animal Husbandry.
• Graduate School Opportunities
• Graduate School Fellows Opportunity at BGSU

Regardless of the work area, Peace Corps Volunteers gain two years of professional experience in a developing country. Volunteers learn new languages and cultures, develop project and management skills, espouse flexibility and initiative, and enrich their classroom instruction in cross-cultural settings. Peace Corps creates global citizens prepared to engage in a competitive workforce.

Bowling Green State University has a strong history of alumni who have served in Peace Corps. Since 1961, 209 Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green campus) alumni have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in developing countries across the world. As Peace Corps Volunteers, BSU alumni are positively impacting the world at home and abroad by finding solutions to development issues such as malnutrition, food security, basic education, and disease prevention; plus bringing global perspectives and experiences back to the United States. This spring, Peace Corps is actively looking for qualified BGSU students to join the currently serving eleven (11) Bowling Green State alumni in the field to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers after graduation.

I will be on campus February 9th-11th and would like the opportunity to talk with your majors in a specialized information session to discuss opportunities in education or speak to your classes or organizations about our international opportunities. Information sessions take about an hour. When I speak to classes, I take about 10 minutes providing a brief introduction about Peace Corps, sharing about the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer and the benefits associated with service, and answering any questions students may have.

If you are interested in having me talk about Peace Corps with your majors, with your organization, or with your classes - please contact me! If you are unable to take time out of your class period, please inform me if you would like a folder of information to share with your students/colleagues. In addition, I’d sincerely appreciate if you could extend the invitation/information to your students/colleagues in one of the following ways

• Encourage students and colleagues to attend our general information session at Bowling Green State University on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in Education Building 301 or on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in Education Building 363
• Direct students/colleagues to our Web site at www.peacecorps.gov
• Display posters and/or flyers in your department area (I’m happy to mail you copies)
• Play a Peace Corps short DVD clip during one of your class periods (We happy to send copies – there are short education clips, if desired)
• Forward this message to interested students, faculty, and friends
• Display posters in your department area and/or play a Peace Corps short DVD clip during one of your classes during Peace Corps Week, February 23 – March 2, 2009 [Please visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.former.pcweek and/or contact me for more information, DVDs, posters, catalogs, etc. to house/share/display in your office/department. In addition, inform me of what type of Peace Corps advocacy activities you’ll be doing!]
• Allow a recruitment representative to speak to your class briefly about Peace Corps on Tuesday, February 10th (Please contact me at kwegner@peacecorps.gov or (312) 353-6122 if you’re interested)

Thanks much for your consideration! I look forward to working with you.

In community, service, and learning,

Kristin Wegner

• Are you looking for a distinctive way to share your knowledge and expertise, build cultural bridges, gain valuable international experience, and promote a spirit of friendship and peace?
• Are you seeking the toughest job you will ever love?
• Are you willing to be a catalyst for change?
• Would you like to be working in another country in another year?

Peace Corps may be your answer!

Peace Corps has 3,000+ positions to fill this year in areas of Community Development, Information Technology, Business, Health, HIV/AIDS, Education/Teaching, Environment, and Agriculture.

Learn about the ultimate international volunteer experience:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=meet.regrec.event&eventid=86636&city=chicago

INFORMATION SESSION
Monday, February 9, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Education Building Room 301
Bowling Green State University

EXPO JOB & INTERNSHIP FAIR
Thursday, February 10, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Perry Field House
Bowling Green State University

INFORMATION SESSION
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
6:00 p.m.
Education Building Room 363
Bowling Green State University

We will watch a short video highlighting a few volunteers in their global communities, talk about the application process, and discuss the benefits of service. All are welcome!

INTERVIEWS

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Perry Field House
Bowling Green State University

*You MUST submit a completed application online by Monday, February 2, 2009 in order to be considered for an interview on February 11th. Once you have submitted your application, contact Kristin at kwegner@peacecorps.gov, (312) 353-6122 or (800) 424-8580, option 1 to schedule an interview.

You NEVER have to say “I should've…” Apply NOW in order to start working on your post-graduation or post-retirement plans. The application process takes 9-12 months.

Who, What & Why:
Peace Corps Regional Recruiter Kristin Wegner, who served in Eastern Europe Moldova as a health education volunteer, will be visiting Bowling Green State University once again this winter, introducing community members to the Peace Corps experience. She will share what it’s really like to be immersed in a new culture helping others half-way around the globe and how the two-year service changed her perspective on the world.

Approximately 11 Bowling Green State University graduates are currently serving in Peace Corps; 209 alumni have served. Peace Corps hopes to inspire current BGSU students and faculty members to consider applying, especially juniors and seniors and individuals approaching retirement, who would like an international, cross-cultural, service-learning experience which is sought after in today’s global job market.

The work of Peace Corps volunteers is diverse and includes a range of programs within education, health, HIV/AIDS prevention, information technology, business development, mathematics and science, youth and community development, environment and agriculture, as well as secondary projects initiated by volunteers themselves, such as book drives, school and house construction, community businesses and much more.

The Peace Corps is celebrating a 46-year legacy of service at home and abroad, and a 37-year high for volunteers in the field. Since 1961, more than 192,000 volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where volunteers have served. Returned Peace Corps volunteers’ commitment to service often continues back home in their communities and around the globe.

Peace Corps:

• Is an independent United States federal agency
• In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship

• Has three goals:
  1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
  2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served
  3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans

Peace Corps Volunteers:

• Must be 18 years old (Peace Corps has volunteers at all stages of life – recent graduates and grad students; mid-career professionals; those in transition or taking sabbatical; active retirees)
• Must be U.S. citizens
• Must be in good health
• Live and work at a grass roots level in a community that has requested assistance with their community and economic development
• Receive round-trip international airfare, housing, complete medical and dental health care, three months of technical, cultural, and language training, a living stipend, and a readjustment allowance of more than $6,000 when they complete their 27 months of service
• Are eligible for student loan deferment with most lenders
• Are eligible to apply for a Peace Corps Master’s International program and/or Peace Corps Fellows program if they desire to pursue a graduate degree
• Are eligible for a preferred hiring status when applying for federal government jobs following Peace Corps service