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Peace Corps Prep program to launch at University of Guam

Peace Corps Prep program to launch at University of Guam

Peace Corps Prep program to launch at University of Guam


10/1/2021
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(From left) Lawrence Camacho, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success; Thomas W. Krise, president; Joann Sudo, student academic counselor specialist; and Lorenzo Eduvala, program coordinator for Peace Corps Prep, all with the University of Guam. 
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University of Guam President Thomas W. Krise signs a memorandum of understanding for the university to become an official Peace Corps Prep partner with the Peace Corps. The program will officially begin in February. 
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The Peace Corps announced today the upcoming launch of Peace Corps Prep, an undergraduate certificate program, at the University of Guam. Scheduled to kick off on Feb. 15, the program will combine targeted coursework with hands-on experience, building the competencies needed for students to become Peace Corps volunteers or other intercultural fieldworkers.

logoThe University of Guam is one of 11 new university partnerships this year for the Peace Corps among a network of 150 partner institutions nationwide.

“Today’s students are passionate about service and leaving their mark on the world,” Peace Corps Acting Director Carol Spahn said. “Through the Peace Corps Prep program at the University of Guam, students can develop skills specifically targeted to Peace Corps service and careers in the international development and service communities.”

Peace Corps Prep will be structured as an interdisciplinary certificate program housed in the Career Development Office. Students will be able to enroll in the certificate program alongside their degree program and will take courses toward four core objectives: 

  • Developing concrete knowledge and skills in one of six specific work sectors that Peace Corps volunteers serve (education, health, environment, agriculture, youth development, or community economic development)
  • Foreign language skills
  • Intercultural competence
  • Professional leadership development.

“The Peace Corps Prep program will be open to all majors at UOG,” said Lawrence Camacho, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success at UOG. “It will be a really exciting pathway for students to start envisioning their futures and the global impact they are capable of making.” 

The Peace Corps works with its partner institutions to deliver programming that underscores a commitment to global citizenship, intercultural competencies, and a sense of service among students. More than 700 undergraduate students completed the Peace Corps Prep program in the 2020–2021 academic year.  

Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans of all ages with a passion for service abroad have served in 142 countries on behalf of the United States. Volunteers work with communities to develop sustainable solutions to challenges in education, health, community economic development, agriculture, environment, and youth development. 

Students interested in the Peace Corps Prep program at the University of Guam can contact Lorenzo Eduvala, program coordinator and lead program adviser, at eduvalal@triton.uog.edu. For more information on the Peace Corps, visit peacecorps.gov.