“We, at the Center, and the affiliated faculty of Economics, Politics and Government, and Sociology extend our best wishes to Dan as he begins this next stage of his professional and personal journey.”
Scene from the Kyrgyz Republic |
Wienecke is not the only ISU student working overseas this year. Peace Corps Master’s International student Brian Kiger (Department of Economics) has been in the Kyrgyz Republic since September assisting the Association of Agribusinessmen of Kyrgyzstan, which seeks to improve farmers’ access to inputs such as fertilizer and seeds. He has already drawn on the grant-writing, nonprofit administration, and other community and economic development skills that he learned at ISU.
In addition to training soon-to-be Peace Corps Volunteers through its Peace Corps Master’s International Program, the Stevenson Center recruits Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) to its Peace Corps Fellows Program. Like the Peace Corps Master’s International students, the Peace Corps Fellows pursue master's degrees in applied economics, political science, or sociology. Within each degree program, students complete an interdisciplinary sequence of core courses in Applied Community/Economic Development. While Peace Corps Master’s International students serve in the Peace Corps to complete their degree requirements, ISU Peace Corps Fellows work in communities across the state and the country. Peace Corps Fellows use the skills from their two years abroad and their graduate training to benefit these communities. ISU’s Peace Corps Fellows program, begun in partnership with Western Illinois University, was the first in the nation to focus on community and economic development.
RPCV Jamal Nasafi is testament to the program’s impact. Nasafi was born to an Uzbek family in Kabul, Afghanistan, and lived there until he was 13 years old. He returned to the region to serve in the Kyrgyz Republic as an English teacher with the Peace Corps from 1997 to 1999. As a Peace Corps Fellow in Politics and Government interning with Milwaukee’s Department of City Development, Nasafi explained, “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.” When Nasafi graduated in 2002, he returned to the region to work and serve.
Other successes include RPCV Joan Bailey, who taught English with the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan from 1997 to 1999 and came to ISU as a one of the first Peace Corps Fellows in Sociology. Having completed her professional practice with the YWCA of McLean County and graduated, she is now Community Relations Coordinator for Avalon Housing, Inc., in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Also an English instructor, RPCV Janet Deutsch served in the Kyrgyz Republic from 1998 to 2000. A Peace Corps Fellow in Economics, she supported the Town of Normal in its downtown renewal efforts during her graduate assistantship here. She is now with the U.S. Foreign Service.
“The Stevenson Center's support of Peace Corps volunteers, both before and after service abroad, is a model of how universities can contribute a theoretical framework as well as a practical introduction to service abroad," says Associate Dean Jonathan Rosenthal. Having worked with Peace Corps recruiters on a number of campuses, I know the special respect they have for our program and our students. The College is extremely proud of the Center and its graduates.”