Mt. Morris, Mich., resident begins Peace Corps service in Lesotho

With the Peace Corps Master’s International program, Jessica Detrio is achieving two of her goals at the same time. The Mt. Morris, Mich., native is earning her master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (U-M) and completing 27 months of international Peace Corps service simultaneously. She departs June 6 to begin making a difference as an urban youth development volunteer in Lesotho.

Detrio will teach basic business skills, life skills, HIV/AIDS prevention, and health education, in addition to preparing youth for the world of work. Her volunteer service will align well with her master’s degree, which is also focused on youth and families.

“Peace Corps had always been a dream of mine, but finding out I could participate while also getting a graduate degree made the decision to do it now much easier,” Detrio, 26, said.

Peace Corps’ Midwest Region earns recognition for embracing sustainable, green initiatives

Peace Corps Midwest Region office- and field-based staff found time to support environmentalism during a work retreat in December 2012, spending a morning volunteering at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory.

To see how much Peace Corps cares about protecting the planet, look no further than the work volunteers are doing worldwide on environmental projects: Peace Corps Volunteer Carly Steinhauer of Muskegon, Mich., recently led a three-day camp in her Nicaraguan community that culminated in the participants creating a mural out of recycled materials. Pete and Kelly Brands, a married couple from New Berlin, Wis., are working on environmental health and sustainable agriculture projects in Panama.

But Peace Corps is also making a difference on environmental issues right here in the U.S., thanks to the creativity and thoughtfulness of staff members in the agency’s Midwest Region. As they assist, interview, and assess Peace Corps applicants from across an 11-state territory, the team is “going green” in simple, sustainable ways in their main recruiting office in Chicago, and in metro-based recruitment home offices throughout the region. Recruiters and other staff members make personal choices, such as riding their bikes and using public transit to come to work each day, and team up on office initiatives, such as maintaining a worm compost bin and recycling batteries and other electronics.

For Ohio family with 8 returned Peace Corps volunteers, service is in the blood

All three Nighswander siblings, pictured with their spouses, served in the Peace Corps. From left: Tom and Ruth Nighswander, returned health volunteers who served in Malawi; Alan and Sue Boyd, who served in Ethiopia; and Tim and Diane Nighswander. Tim served in Liberia.

Athens, Ohio, resident Sue Boyd says hers is a “Peace Corps family from the early days,” but that statement doesn’t do justice to her family’s remarkable Peace Corps tradition. In fact, the Boyd-Nighswander legacy of service spans decades, generations, and continents – and it could continue to grow. “Maybe we’ll have more volunteers in the generation coming up,” Sue said. “Who knows?”

Those future volunteers would join Sue and her two younger brothers, Tom and Tim Nighswander, all returned volunteers and Kent State University alums. The three siblings served with their spouses in Peace Corps in Africa decades ago. Sue and her husband, Alan, served in Ethiopia as English teaching volunteers from 1964-66.

“We were in the early days of Peace Corps, and we were called Kennedy’s Children,” Sue, 75, said. “So there was a sense of service to country, but also a sense of adventure and wanting to see and learn about a different part of the world.”

Waukesha, Wis., resident begins Peace Corps service in Cameroon

Caroline Reddy, 23, of Waukesha, Wis., has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Cameroon May 29 to begin training as a community economic development advisor. Reddy will make a difference working with small-scale farmers and farmers’ cooperatives to teach basic business practices, improve crop and livestock production and preservation, and identify market structures.

Reddy is the daughter of Michael Reddy and a 2008 graduate of Waukesha South High School in Waukesha, Wis. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and applied economics in 2012.

Michigan Technological University Remains Top Peace Corps Master’s International Graduate School Nationwide

Wade Aitken-Palmer, of Kansas City, Mo., is among the 35 Michigan Technological University Master’s International students currently combining Peace Corps service with a graduate degree. He has been serving as a science teacher volunteer in Ghana since June 2012 and is pursuing a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MTU.

CHICAGO, May 7, 2013– Michigan Technological University ranks as the No. 1 Peace Corps Master’s International university nationwide for the eighth consecutive year. With 35 Master’s International graduate students currently making a difference as Peace Corps Volunteers, Michigan Tech has earned the top spot on the 2013 rankings of Peace Corps Master’s International and Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate schools.

The Peace Corps’ Master’s International program allows students to incorporate Peace Corps service as credit into their graduate degree, and the Coverdell Fellows Program provides returned Peace Corps volunteers with scholarships, internships in underserved American communities, and stipends to earn an advanced degree after they complete their Peace Corps service.

Illinois State University Ranked a Top Peace Corps’ Master’s International Graduate School

Peace Corps Volunteer and Illinois State Master’s International student David Becker

CHICAGO – Illinois State University ranks No. 8 on Peace Corps’ list of the top Master’s International schools nationwide. With 15 Master’s International students currently making a difference as Peace Corps Volunteers, ISU returns to the 2013 rankings of Peace Corps Master’s International and Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate schools after a one-year absence.

The Master’s International program allows students to incorporate Peace Corps service as credit into their graduate degree, and the Coverdell Fellows Program provides returned Peace Corps volunteers with scholarships, internships in underserved American communities, and stipends to earn an advanced degree after they complete their Peace Corps service.

“Every year, hundreds of Peace Corps Volunteers make a difference by combining meaningful service with graduate studies through Peace Corps’ Master’s International and Coverdell Fellows programs,” Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “After completing Peace Corps service, volunteers return to the United States as global citizens, with leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and language and technical skills that position them for success in today’s global job market.”

University of Michigan Ranked a Top Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Graduate School

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Mackenzie Knowling served in Guatemala and is now earning her master’s in Public Policy through the University of Michigan’s Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program.

CHICAGO, May 7, 2013 – University of Michigan (U-M) ranks No. 7 in the nation as a Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows university in the 2013 rankings of top Peace Corps Master’s International and Coverdell Fellows graduate schools. U-M has 20 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) currently enrolled in the Coverdell Fellows graduate program.

The Coverdell Fellows Program provides returned volunteers with scholarships, academic credit, and stipends to earn an advanced degree after they complete their Peace Corps service along with professional internships helping underserved American communities. The Peace Corps Master’s International program allows students to earn their graduate degree while serving in the Peace Corps. U-M offers both Peace Corps Fellows and Master’s International programs.

“Every year, hundreds of Peace Corps Volunteers make a difference by combining meaningful service with graduate studies through Peace Corps’ Master’s International and Coverdell Fellows programs,” Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “After completing Peace Corps service, volunteers return to the United States as global citizens, with leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and language and technical skills that position them for success in today’s global job market.”