Fellows in Community | Fellows/USA | Graduate School Opportunities | Why Should I Volunteer? | Learn About Peace Corps

Since the beginning of Fellows/USA, nearly 2,000 returned Volunteers have participated in the program. Peace Corps Fellows gain valuable work experience through paid internships. They help improve communities in areas ranging from health care to education to the environment. Following are highlights of the work of some Peace Corps Fellows.
Kalimah Fergus Teachers College, Columbia University RPCV Tanzania Kalimah is a science teacher at the High School for Legal Studies in New York City. After returning from Peace Corps service as a math teacher in Tanzania, Kalimah turned down a full scholarship at Teachers College, which would have kept her in course work full time, to join Teachers College's Fellows/USA program which combines course work with teaching. Being able to gain hands-on experience while completing her master's and teaching certification is a major incentive for Kalimah.

Johanna Snedeker Western Illinois University Alumna RPCV Poland A recreation, park, and tourism administration Fellow at Western Illinois University, Johanna Snedeker was an intern with the North Central Illinois Council of Governments. She assisted with planning for two communities, grant writing, conducting community surveys, and organizing a tri-county recycling effort.

Amy McCue George Mason University RPCV Guinea Amy McCue teaches English as a second language to first graders at Carlin Springs Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia. A usual work day for McCue involves teaching in the mornings and observing colleagues in the afternoons. English is not the native language of 80 percent of the students; they come from 38 countries. Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, and Pakistani languages are most commonly heard in the school's hallways.

Jim Burkett University of Texas at El Paso RPCV Ecuador Jim Burkett works in a public school in the 70 percent Hispanic community of El Paso, Texas. To engage students in his biology and chemistry classes at Tejas School of Choice for at-risk high school students, he organizes interesting experiments like extracting DNA from bananas. Burkett was a 1962 Peace Corps Volunteer who had to get President Kennedy's authorization to serve in Ecuador at the tender age of 17.

Jamal Nasafi Illinois State University RPCV Kyrgyz Republic As a Peace Corps Fellow, Jamal Nasafi studied political science and applied community and economic development at Illinois State University. After completing his course work in Illinois, he moved to Milwaukee to begin his internship with the Milwaukee Department of City Development. There, he wrote grant proposals, monitored grant compliance, and conducted outreach to other organizations. Nasafi recognizes the practicality of the Fellows/USA program. "The transition between school and work is so much more meaningful when there is a period of professional practice internship, in which a Fellow can put her/his education and life skills in the context of the community development process and connect it to world development in general."

Margaret Perry Marquette University RPCV Kazakhstan Margaret Perry is working toward a master of business administration degree at Marquette University. For her internship, she works as the planning and program development specialist at Horizons, Inc., a community-based nonprofit organization that provides treatment and transitional living services to women offenders in the state of Wisconsin. Perry's experience as a financial analyst, coupled with her economic development experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, has provided her with skills to work on a variety of projects. These projects include grant writing and fundraising, database and website development, and social entrepreneurship for Horizons' clients. "The Fellows/USA Trinity Fellowship program at Marquette University offers me an excellent opportunity to combine my past business experience with my Peace Corps experience", said Perry. "The work placement in a community-based nonprofit allows me to continue my commitment to social justice while utilizing my strengths with the business skills that I am acquiring."

Gloria Chu Johns Hopkins University RPCV Cape Verde A nursing student at Johns Hopkins University, Gloria Chu provides community health services to seniors at Apostolic Towers Isaiah Wellness Center in inner-city Baltimore. Besides providing medical services to seniors, she helps organize programs to educate residents and keep them active. Such programs address diabetes, heart health, depression, nutrition, exercise, safety, Medicare, and prescription medication. Art, computer, and journal writing classes are also offered for the seniors. Chu also leads health education classes at a local elementary school where eight percent of the children come from households where substance abuse is common.

Jeannie Frazier Western New Mexico University RPCV Cameroon Jeannie Frazier, a Fellow at Western New Mexico University, teaches seventh-grade English on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. She credits the Western New Mexico University Fellows/USA program with helping her to become an effective educator. "In the evenings, I am able to take affordable graduate classes," said Frazier. "The program is aligned with the school district schedule, and the material that I learn at night directly enhances my teaching the next day." ... "My Fellows/USA experience has given me a new respect for teaching, a profession that requires such intense energy and ability."

Rosann Jager Southern New Hampshire University RPCV Namibia Rosann Jager is enrolled in the National Weekend master of science program in community economic development at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). From her residence in Detroit, Michigan, she travels to SNHU in Manchester, New Hampshire, one weekend a month for her course work. While in Detroit, she serves her community by working with Young Detroit Builders, an organization that operates a YouthBuild program providing academic instruction for the GED test and construction training to 18- to 24-year-old out-of-school youth. Young Detroit Builders also operates an AmeriCorps program. The AmeriCorps crew builds wheelchair ramps in the metro Detroit area. As a development specialist, Jager helps develop such projects, organizes job skills workshops, and arranges activities for strengthening the leadership skills of her membership.

Brian Goercke Duquesne University RPCV Zimbabwe Brian Goercke is working toward his master of arts in conflict resolution and peace studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In addition to taking courses, he contributes to his community and gains practical experience in his field by working with at-risk children in an after-school program and participating in outreach work for the city's homeless population. For Community Human Services' after-school program, he provides one-to-one tutorial assistance to children and participates in sports and other recreational activities with them. He also arranges cultural diversity activities and gathers reading materials for the program's library. In his outreach work, he helps place homeless individuals in shelters or treatment programs.

Orlando Crosby The George Washington University RPCV Guinea Orlando student teaches English as a second language at a high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. He works with students who are non-English speakers at home or students who can speak English fluently, but cannot read or write it. Some of his students are not even proficient in their first languages. "I love teaching because it's more active-you're up and moving more. It's more creative. You're also making a contribution. You're helping students get to where they need to be," he said.