Join our upcoming online discussions for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and life after Peace Corps. Recordings of past events are also available.

Recordings

Life After Peace Corps: Putting Your Purpose to Work (Again)

Join us for a discussion on how you can leverage your Peace Corps experience for success in graduate school and in your career. Our panel features faculty, staff, and current students who are also Coverdell Fellows and RPCVs:

  • Professor Jeff Langholz teaches in the International Environmental Policy program. He is passionate about the sustainability of the world’s natural resources and served as a rice farmer with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone.
  • Edy Rhodes is a career and academic advisor for several programs at the Institute and she is the Coverdell Fellows Programs Coordinator.
  • Beth Magyar is a third semester International Education Management candidate. She is currently working with SOS Outreach on their outdoor mentorship program to fulfill her practicum. Prior to MIIS, she received her B.S. and M.S. in Exercise Science from Appalachian State University and then joined the Peace Corps as a Community Health Volunteer in 2017. Her experiences in the Kingdom of Eswatini (former Swaziland) led her to pursue studies at the Institute.

Life After Peace Corps: Putting your Purpose to Work (Again)

Transforming Your Peace Corps Service into a Global Career

Like many people around the world, this turbulent period may have you wondering what to do next to advance your career or even what career path to pursue. Join Middlebury Institute staff and current students (Coverdell Fellows) for a conversation about why you should be considering graduate school right now, how to finance your education, and how you can transform your service (even if it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic) into a global career.

Transforming Your Peace Corps Service into a Global Career

Navigating the “R” of RPCV: What to Do When You’re Back Home

RPCVs Coleen and Patrick discuss how to navigate some common challenges Peace Corps Volunteers face after finishing their service, and how recently returned PCVs can use the transition back to prepare for their personal and professional next steps.

Hosts

Coleen Bremner is in the throes of her first year as an MPA candidate. She received her BS in communication studies with a minor in journalism from Southern Oregon University. She went on a two-year adventure in the Gambia as a health education volunteer and is currently a Coverdell Fellow at the Middlebury Institute. She is a Twizzler lover, works nights fighting crime, and loves running (and by running, she means out of time, money, or because there is food in front of her.)

Patrick Kennedy is a joint MPA/International Education Management candidate at the Middlebury Institute. He received BAs in history and international studies at Presbyterian College in South Carolina and served as a Youth in Development volunteer in Guatemala (2013–2015). He hopes to cultivate a bridge between academia and community-driven development. He is passionate about representing community perspectives through international education.

Episode 1: Navigating the “R” of RPCV: What to Do When You’re Back Home

The Peace Corps Advantage: How to Leverage your PC Experience for Interviews and Applications

Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow, Chelsea Segal, and our Senior Director of Global Recruiting, Devin Lueddeke, discuss how to enhance your interview skills, resume, and application efforts to reflect your Peace Corps service. They address how to use your transition back to prepare for your professional next steps.

Hosts

Chelsea Segal is a second semester MPA candidate and is specializing in Intercultural Competence (ICC). She received her BA in Sociology and minors in Spanish and Community Action Social Change from the University of Michigan. She served two years in Peace Corps Panama as a Teaching English, Leadership, and Life Skills Volunteer and extended a third year as a Regional Coordinator. She is a current Coverdell Fellow, a program coordinator at The Lyceum of Monterey County, and volunteers for Global Majority in Salinas, CA. Chelsea’s passion lies in working with marginalized populations especially youth and issues relating to inequalities in societies around the world.

Devin Lueddeke is the Middlebury Institute’s Senior Director of Global Recruiting and works closely with the school’s Dean and faculty on a variety of special projects, including developing strategic partnerships. He joined the institute in 2007. Prior to joining the Institute, he led recruitment for cross-cultural programs abroad for an East Coast-based higher education institution. He received his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in Biology and Political Science.

The Peace Corps Advantage

Bringing it home with the Middlebury Institute: An inside look at our Coverdell Fellows Program

Join some of the Coverdell Fellows at the Middlebury Institute to talk about their decision to apply to the Middlebury Institute, what their experience has been like as a Fellow, and how they are serving their new community.

Hosts

Nykole is a student in the International Policy and Development program, specializing in Conflict Resolution and Social Justice. Before attending the Institute, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2015–2017. It was her experience with the Peace Corps that motivated her to continue her studies and choose the Middlebury Institute. She is also an advocate with the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center and can make a mean latte.

Amanda Larson is an RPCV from Malawi where she served in the environment sector from 2014–2016. This is where she found the love of her life, a village dog named Maluwa, who she brought back with her to pursue an MA in International Policy and Development specializing in Conflict Resolution and Social Justice as a Coverdell Fellow. Passionate about people, animals, and the environment, she finds herself with her hands full working with a variety of organizations in Monterey while she enjoys the nature and beauty around her.  

Inside Look at our Coverdell Fellows Program

Advance Your Career

The Middlebury Institute is a graduate school for people who want professional careers that advance understanding, promote peace, and drive positive change in the world. Find out if the Middlebury Institute can help you achieve your personal and professional goals:

Integrate Peace Corps Service into a Graduate Degree

Know anyone interested in integrating Peace Corps service into their graduate degree? Encourage them to consider our Options for Peace Corps Service program, which allows them to do their service between their first and second years and receive a 50% scholarship for their final semester.

Refer a friend to the Middlebury Institute.

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