Three graduating University of Arkansas students have earned Peace Corps Prep certificates. Students who take part in the program have a competitive advantage when applying for Peace Corps service.

J.P. Gairhan, Meredith Hayden and Cierra Cordova completed the certificate program this academic year.

Gairhan is a history and political science major. He will begin work as a Peace Corps Sustainable Agriculture Volunteer in Tanzania in 2020.

Hayden is an animal science major. She plans to attend veterinary school before applying to the Peace Corps.

Cordova is a political science major. Her application for a Community Development Volunteer position with the Peace Corps is pending. In the meantime, she has accepted a full-time professional position in Northwest Arkansas.

All three students agreed the Peace Corps Prep program helped them learn more about their goals and how to pursue them.

"The Peace Corps Prep Program gave me the structure to pursue my goals with enough guidance to be effective," Gairhan said. "It wasn't that I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just didn't know how to get there. Peace Corps Prep gave me the confidence to pursue my dream."

All three students are on track to graduate from the U of A this semester.

The University of Arkansas is one of only 100 Peace Corps Prep partner schools across the country.  Approximately 30 University of Arkansas alumni serve as Peace Corps volunteers each year, and approximately 20 returned Peace Corps volunteers serve as faculty, staff or emeritus at the university.

Students interested in completing the Peace Corps Prep certificate program should contact the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange.