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Learn more about WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development at peacecorpsfellows-wiu.org.
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Interested in Giving Back to Your Global Community? Attend Peace Corps Info. Session Sept. 10

September 8, 2009

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MACOMB, IL - -Interested in giving back to your global community at home and abroad? Western Illinois University's Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development offers individuals the opportunity to do so -- and get a master's degree -- through its highly ranked program.

An information session -- slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 in the University Union Fox Room -- will provide attendees with the opportunity to meet returned volunteers who have lived and worked in international communities, hear their inspiring stories and ask questions.

The information session will also include a short video that highlights the volunteers in service and provide information about the application process and the benefits of Peace Corps service.

According to the program's website, the primary purpose of the program is to provide high-quality students, who have served overseas in the Peace Corps, an opportunity to earn a master's degree with a specialization in community development. As part of their degree plans, Peace Corps Fellows serve an eleven-month internship in which they gain practical experience while leading community development projects in rural Illinois towns. Since its inception, the Fellows Program has placed interns in more than 60 rural Illinois communities and has received several awards for the excellence of their service.

Of the more than 50 schools that participate in the Peace Corps' unique Fellows/USA graduate program, WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program was recently ranked ninth nationally (March 2009). According to Casey Lowman, from the Peace Corps Chicago Regional Office, WIU has become one of the most robust graduate programs in the country. The program is housed at WIU as a unit in the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and is managed by Karen Mauldin-Curtis, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic.

This year, WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

For more information, stop by WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program office, 503 Currens Hall, or visit www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.eduben.school
_detail&coll_prog_id=4564&program=F. Learn more about WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development at peacecorpsfellows-wiu.org/. Visit WIU's Peace Corps Fellows Program on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Macomb-IL/Peace-Corps-Fellows-IIRA-Western-Illinois-University-WIU/37465663143.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing