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Lexie Woodward (second from left, white shirt) is a graduate student in Western Illinois University's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA). She is pictured here with her host family from her service in Nicaragua (2010-12) as a Peace Corps volunteer. Woodward is an on-campus recruiter for the Peace Corps, as well as for Western's newly launched Peace Corps (PC) Prep Program for undergraduates.
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Grad Student Helps WIU Students Redefine Their Futures with Peace Corps

October 30, 2014

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MACOMB, IL — It has been more than 50 years since President John F. Kennedy called Americans to service and created the Peace Corps. The message still resonates with Lexie Woodward (Portland, OR), a graduate student in Western Illinois University's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA), who served in Nicaragua from 2010-12 as a Peace Corps volunteer. As an on-campus recruiter for the Peace Corps, as well as for Western's newly launched Peace Corps (PC) Prep Program for undergraduates, she is helping WIU students find their own paths to becoming volunteers.

As the PC Prep Program recruiter at WIU, Woodward shares her experiences and accomplishments from living and working abroad in a new culture with students and provides them with information about Peace Corps' work across the globe and its new application processes. With Woodward's help, Western students can apply to Peace Corps and choose the specific countries and assignments they'd like to be considered for, giving them greater control as they plan their careers and chart their paths toward making a difference for others and themselves.

"I had fallen for many aspects of life outside of the United States, and Peace Corps reaffirmed my love of other cultures, countries and peoples," Woodward noted.

"Launching the PC Prep Program and establishing a campus recruiter position at WIU are exciting new initiatives. We're delighted to have Lexie serving our campus in this capacity," said Karen Mauldin-Curtis, program manager for the WIU Peace Corps Fellows (PCF) Program in Community Development. "Our PCF Program is pleased to expand our ongoing partnership with the Peace Corps to include the PC Prep Program and Peace Corps campus recruiter position. As a result of these initiatives, WIU joins a selective group of universities in the Midwest with campus recruiter positions and is one of only 25 universities nationally with a Peace Corps Prep Program."

Offering a World of Experience

Woodward began her Peace Corps journey as an agriculture and food security volunteer in Nicaragua, where she helped build 15 improved ovens and nine biofuel stoves. Additionally, she helped organize two pool tournaments, one to focus on HIV/AIDS awareness and the other to promote homemade animal feeds and the safe handling and disposing practices of agriculture chemicals. She also worked with women's community banks, coordinated a drip-water irrigation project and painted a world map at an elementary school with the help of local children and other volunteers.

At Western, Woodward is working toward her RPTA master's degree, which she plans to complete in 2016, through Western's Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development, a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program, and is part of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western.

According to the Peace Corps, Woodward, as well as all returned Peace Corps volunteers, enjoy lifetime eligibility for the national program, which offers financial assistance and internships at more than 80 schools nationwide. Coverdell Fellows are also able to apply the skills they gained in service and pursue research interests and career goals they discovered through Peace Corps.

"Because of the Peace Corps Fellows program, WIU students have had Fellows staff and returned volunteers available to them for 20 years. With the addition of the PC Prep Program, students now have additional opportunities to interact with returned Peace Corps volunteers and gain information to better prepare for international service," Woodward noted.

Some 354 WIU graduates have served as Peace Corps volunteers since the agency's creation in 1961.

According to Woodward, students can make appointments with her and attend campus information sessions throughout the semester to learn more about how to become a Peace Corps volunteer. She is available for visits during her office hours 9 a.m.-noon Mondays and noon-3 p.m. Wednesdays in Currens Hall 501.

"Those who have majors and work or volunteer experience in fields such as education, English teaching, health, agriculture, environment, youth development and economic development are especially qualified for overseas assignments, but a degree from Western in any major, in conjunction with the individual's completion of WIU's Peace Corps Prep Program, provides a solid foundation for Peace Corps service," Woodward said.

For more information about program qualifications, see available Peace Corps job openings at www.peacecorps.gov/openings.

For more information, contact Woodward at (309) 298-3685 or via email at pcprep@wiu.edu.

Learn more about the WIU Peace Corps Prep Program at WIU at www.wiu.edu/peace_corps and via Facebook at www.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsatWIU and follow the Peace Corps Midwest on Twitter at twitter.com/PeaceCorps_MW.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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