NMSU starts degree plan for Peace Corps volunteers
NMSU starts degree plan for volunteers
Darren Meritz
El Paso Times
Returning Peace Corps volunteers seeking graduate degrees in health disciplines can now participate in a fellowship program at New Mexico State University.
The Peace Corps Fellowship/ USA Program allows returning volunteers to pursue master's degrees in social work, public health and nursing while teaching classes and conducting research at NMSU.
Returning Peace Corps volunteers will also work within Doña Ana County neighborhoods that have distinct public health concerns, Daryl Smith, project coordinator for the NMSU department of health sciences, said.
"We hope to place them in some of the different colonia communities," said Smith, who volunteered for the Peace Corps from 1983 to 1986 in the Dominican Republic.
Smith said that the program might be particularly attractive to returning volunteers who worked in Central and Latin America during their tours because those participants will have skills well-suited to the border region.
But the program would not be limited to volunteers who served in any particular region, he said.
"I think that it's going to bring international exposure to the area because Peace Corps covers almost every continent," Smith said. "It's going to add a more diverse student body to the college of health services at NMSU."
NMSU is the first Hispanic-serving institution to participate in the Peace Corps Fellowship/USA Program to offer health-related degrees, university officials said.
Smith called the Peace Corps a good experience, where volunteers have the chance to learn a different language and develop an understanding of another culture.
"Every volunteer has a different experience, mostly positive. A lot of it has to do with attitude," he said.
Smith said he expects most fellowships to begin in January, but positions are available for the coming fall semester.
