Teaching & Learning

USU Launches Peace Corps Prep Program to Prepare Students for Service

Noemi Molina, USU Student, sorting coffee beans and chatting with a Guatemalan woman who works on a coffee farm. After this USU Alternative Break experience and visit to the Peace Corps headquarters in Guatemala, Noemi applied to Peace Corps and was accepted.

The Utah State University Peace Corps Prep (PC Prep) program will launch in September. The program prepares students for international development fieldwork and potential Peace Corps service. To accomplish this, students build four core competencies through interrelated coursework, hands-on experience, and professional development support.

The four competencies are:

  1. Training and experience in one of six Peace Corps sectors
  2. Foreign language skills
  3. Intercultural competence
  4. Professional and leadership development

USU is home to the largest university AmeriCorps program in the region. PC Prep students will be given opportunities to serve in 300-1700 hour AmeriCorps positions, as well as summer and year-long AmeriCorps VISTA positions, with organizations such as the UCC Urban Farm, Cache Refugee Immigrant Connection, Centro de la Familia, and the English Language Center, whose missions align with the six (6) Peace Corps sectors. In addition, USU PC Prep students will have opportunities to use the Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) Urban Farm as a training site for community garden and youth development programs.

USU PC Prep students will also be given opportunities to travel internationally and visit a Peace Corps country headquarters and work alongside current Peace Corps volunteers. If international travel in not feasible, PC Prep students can work virtually with a current Peace Corps project.

To learn more, visit www.usu.edu/peace-corps-prep or contact Kate Stephens at kate.stephens@usu.edu.

CONTACT

Kate Stephens
Associate Director
USU Center for Community Engagement
435-797-8135
kate.stephens@usu.edu


TOPICS

Hands-on Learning 202stories World 121stories Engagement 95stories International 61stories

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