A Partnership with the Peace Corps

“Once students see more people getting into the Peace Corps it forms a momentum.”

She’s not out to save the world. McKenna Brumley, who graduated from San Diego State University last May, is heading to Guatemala with the Peace Corps in March because she believes that “you help where you can and you do what you can.”

In Brumley’s case, that means working with moms and kids in a health care program in an as-yet undesignated town in the Central American country. “That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said during a phone call from her hometown of Telluride, Colo.

Joining the Peace Corps is frequently described as a life-changing experience, a chance to promote positive change and see the results not just in real time, but in real people. Volunteers serve a two-year commitment.

Now SDSU aims to boost the number of graduates accepted by the organization under a partnership designed to make the university a more effective conduit. The Peace Corps Prep certificate program will help students fulfill academic, field-experience, volunteer and other requirements to become strong candidates.

“The goal is to increase the likelihood of students who apply from SDSU to get accepted into the Peace Corps,” said sociology professor Hank Johnston, program coordinator and Hansen Chair of Peace and Nonviolence. “Once students see more people getting into the Peace Corps it forms a momentum.”

The program is being inaugurated with a “Peace Corps Prep Party,” 3:30-5:00 p.m. today, Feb. 13, at SDSU Career Services, Student Services East 1200.

Peace Corps statistics show 1,229 SDSU alumni have served since its creation in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Johnston said he hopes eventually to steer about 50 SDSU graduates at a time into the Peace Corps.

Planning early

Approved for SDSU last year, Peace Corps Prep helps plan for recruiting prospective volunteers and helping them identify the courses, training and experience needed to qualify for Peace Corps service. The organization focuses on education, health, the environment, agriculture, youth development, and community and economic development.

Carla Koop, public affairs specialist with the Peace Corps Office of Recruitment and Diversity, said the organization looks for volunteers with both the technical skills needed for its programs and who “demonstrate a willingness to integrate in a community and adapt to the cultural norms for a three-month training period and two years of service.”

“This includes learning the local language and customs, eating local foods, and engaging with community members on sustainable projects,” Koop said.

Brumley, who will be getting three months of intensive language and cultural training before her two-year commitment, graduated with a B.A. in psychology with an emphasis in child development. She remembers being motivated to serve as far back as eighth grade, when an English teacher described serving in South Africa.

Two years of Spanish at SDSU helped lay the groundwork for her application to the Peace Corps. And Johnston helped Brumley secure an internship with Catholic Charities in which she assisted in providing legal services for immigrants and refugees from around the world, including many from Guatemala. It became a definite plus in her application to join the Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps requires volunteers to have a college degree but preparation can begin as early as freshman year.

Assisting a community with issues of basic hygiene or disease, for example, might draw from courses such as Nutrition throughout the Lifespan (Nutrition 304) or Community Health Nursing (Nursing 415). The cultural challenges of volunteering in a school could be helped by Economics for Teachers (Economics 349) or Global Politics (Political Science 104).

Financial help

Johnston, who served in the Peace Corps in Venezuela, said in addition to volunteer experience, SDSU can provide some applicants with financial assistance through the William R. Mundt Memorial Trust’s Crosscultural Peace Scholarships, open only to students who plan to apply to the Peace Corps.

Johnston noted SDSU is in a good position to deliver Peace Corps volunteers, given its diverse student body, the university’s support for first-generation, low-income families and an international scope to many of its programs. SDSU already has an established global presence, ranking fifth in the nation in 2017-18 for the number of students who study abroad.

Peace Corps Prep at SDSU will be administered by the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement.