Go Global with Kate Yapp: Peace Corps as a Post-Grad Option

A St. Kate’s alum and returned Peace Corps volunteer gives insight into the value of this experience

Julee Muro de Gerome is a St Catherine University graduate who attended at the same time as her daughter. One day, Gerome was walking by a tabling event in the CDC and learned about the Peace Corps. She originally had thought it was an interesting idea for her daughter to pursue but soon realized that there was no age limit and that this would be an opportunity for her to fulfill her own goals of going abroad and being involved in service.

The Peace Corps was established 61 years ago and has since sent 240,000 volunteers across the world, 153 of those being Katies. Of the 10,000 people that apply each year (pre-Covid) on average only about a fourth of those are accepted.

The application process takes about a year so most people apply during fall of their senior year of undergrad. St. Kate’s has recently introduced a prep program, led by Professor Deep Shikha, which lists courses students should take to help develop their cultural awareness. While this prep program does not guarantee acceptance into the Peace Corps, it does demonstrate that you are serious about pursuing this opportunity and took the time to equip yourself with the necessary skills.

Gerome explained that while this is technically a volunteer position, the opportunities, support and networking it unlocks are worthwhile. “Volunteers” are provided a stipend to live in the country where they are stationed, in addition to a $10,000 readjustment allowance upon returning to the US.

Because being in the Peace Corps shows that you have been trained by the federal government, it is a great way to get your foot in the door for more federal jobs down the line. It also benefits our country by educating the next generation of the federal workforce and strengthening international relationships with countries where the Peace Corps do their work.

Upon returning, you get a year of what is called non-competitive eligibility (or NCE) that gives you preference when being considered for federal jobs. Additionally, it is not unusual for embassies to recruit Peace Corps volunteers directly after their time serving.

If you are interested in graduate school, the Paul D. Coverdell fellows program is another great option once you’re back in the states. This program is an agreement of several colleges across the US to cover a significant percentage of the cost of a returned Peace Corps volunteer’s graduate degree. Gerome remarked that St. Kate’s is part of this consortium. She is currently earning her Master’s of Organizational Leadership degree here alongside a few other returned Peace Corps volunteers.

Gerome said she applied for the Dominican Republic but that it is not uncommon to ask to be placed wherever they are in need of volunteers. The Peace Corps has a large focus on sustainable development so you are paired with someone already working in the community and you help build a foundation so the work–and progress–can continue after the Peace Corps volunteer has finished their two years of service.

The program is 27 months long in total, with a few days of prep in the US where you fly out with your cohort, three months of full time language and skills training and two years in the community abroad. While I know work-life balance is something many young adults are concerned about, US Peace Corps volunteers actually get all US holidays off, all regional holidays of their country off and 48 days to use for personal time. Gerome said that some people use those 48 days to pop back to the US and visit family or friends or travel.

I know that health insurance can be a daunting concept to figure out. Because you are representing the United States and doing important work, all of your health care needs are completely covered during your time in the Peace Corps. Additionally, your departure and return flights are covered. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

There are six fields you can work in as a member of the Peace Corps. They include education (which is the largest and encompasses deaf education, which is a great opportunity for St. Kate’s students currently taking ASL classes), health, youth in development, economic development, environment and agriculture. Gerome ended up helping promote and advance Spanish literacy in the Dominican Republic from 2016 to 2018.

One of the most unique things about the Peace Corps is that you live with a host family for at least three months while abroad. Gerome said this made learning the language a lot easier, and that by building community with your host family, you are building a support network that can help you feel comfortable trying new things. Gerome found language to be a lot less intimidating to practice when she was doing it conversationally with people in the community.

Overall, there are a lot of advantages and opportunities that come with this experience, which can be more accurately thought of as an overseas internship. Gerome fondly mentioned the lifelong connections she made with other alumni of the Peace Corps, which have been beneficial both professionally and personally. She gained a lot of new skills and prestige that come in handy when applying to jobs and graduate school. The program made it possible to have this experience in a financially responsible manner. She got to contribute to tangible progress in real people’s lives and establish foundations that will benefit generations to come. She was able to learn more about herself and a new part of the world and see what it feels like to live and engage there.

The application process is quite long, so Gerome advises interested students to meet with the Career Development Center about how to tailor their resumes to the standards of the Peace Corps. St. Kate’s students are taught to lead and influence in a lot of valuable ways and this is a great way to start making that impact.

Julee Muro de Gerome will be on campus tabling with Peace Corps on May 5, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and encourages students to reach out with any questions by emailing her at jmurodegerome@peacecorps.gov or checking out the volunteer section on the Peace Corps website. You can also reach out to Professor Deep Shikha, the campus advisor of the Peace Corps Prep Program, at dshikha@stkate.edu.