By Annette Perez
Celebrating 50 years the Peace Corps is an independent U.S. government agency that provides Volunteers for countries requesting assistance. The agency traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then-Sen. John F. Kennedy challenged students to get out there. Established in 1961 the Peace Corps promotes peace and friendship by remaining true to its mission. One hundred and thirty nine countries have been served with over 200,000 volunteers.
Volunteers serve 27 months which includes 10 weeks of training on languages, culture, technical, and safety and security. The application process can be anywhere from 9-12 months and applicants must be U.S. citizens. The application process is quite competitive and currently there are more applications than there are spots to fill. Placement of countries is based on suited skill sets for countries.
Today’s guest was Matthew Hogue. Mr. Hogue started with the Peace Corps in September 2006 and became the Regional Recruiter in December of that same year. He currently is a Field Based recruiter covering northern Colorado and Wyoming. Hogue served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 2003 to 2005.
One of his experiences he shared was when he was living in Thailand, six months into the program he felt that he was not doing enough on his project and essentially wanted to hit the ground running. Teachers were brought into the village where he was assigned. His supervisor started rattling off things that he had done for the community thus making him realize the amount of effort he was doing in Thailand for this village.
Volunteers have the option of applying for the Fellows Program. Eligibility for the Fellows Program is open to all volunteers who have served and is open for a lifetime. Sixty universities are participating in the program with 128 fields of study.
To learn more about the Peace Corps or to apply visit www.peacecorps.gov or to contact Matthew Hogue please call 303-901-2141.
