Leveraging concrete knowledge and skills is central to on-the-ground international development work. Through this Peace Corps (PC) Prep Program, you will begin to build a professional specialty, which should serve your career well whether or not you become a Peace Corps Volunteer.
For PC Prep, you need to complete at least 3 courses that align with a specific Peace Corps work sector (Education, Health, Environment, Agriculture, Youth in Development, or Community Economic Development). You must also accumulate a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer or work experience in that same sector, preferably in a teaching or outreach capacity.
Peace Corps Tip!—If you intend to apply to the Peace Corps, the best way to assure that you will be a strong candidate is to explore Peace Corps' openings and identify the type of assignments in which you'd like to serve (see Volunteer Openings), and then review the position's required and desired qualifications and build up your knowledge, skills and experience accordingly. In the process, you should fulfill these PC Prep experiential requirements!
There are six sectors in which Peace Corps Volunteers serve - detailed below. Choose one sector to focus on. Complete at least 3 courses + 50 hours of related experience in that sector.
Below find suggested courses and volunteer opportunities. Students may also submit their own proposals for substitutions to their PC Prep program advisor for consideration.
Education
Teach lessons that last a lifetime. Education is the Peace Corps' largest program area. Volunteers play an important role in creating links among schools, parents, and communities by working in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools as math, science, conversational English, and resource teachers or as early grade reading and literacy teacher trainers. Volunteers also develop libraries and technology resource centers.
Courses at Knox:
EDUC 201 School and Society
EDUC 204 Psychological Foundations of Education
EDUC 205 Adolescent Development
EDUC 208 Reading & Writing Across the Curriculum
EDUC 209 Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
EDUC 301 Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World
EDUC 312 Teaching Reading/Language Arts
EDUC 314 Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School
EDUC 315 Teaching Science in the Elementary School
EDUC 316 Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School
MODL 230 Tutoring Second Language Learners
CTL 140 Pedagogy in Practice
CTL 151 Intro to Peer Tutoring
Suggested Volunteer Opportunities:
Best buddies (adults with intellectual disabilities)
Carl Sandburg's Literacy Coalition
Volunteer at Bright Futures PreSchool
Work with "College for Kids" over the summer
Be a T.A. for a Knox course
District 205 After School Programs
Reading Buddies
Carl Sandburg Dream Team Tutors
Community Arts Engagement
Anything is Possible Foundation
Eye to Eye
Champions are Readers
Health
Serve on the front lines of global health. Health volunteers work within their communities to promote important topics such as nutrition, maternal and child health, basic hygiene, and water sanitation. Volunteers also work in HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs to train youth as peer educators, develop appropriate education strategies, provide support to children orphaned by the pandemic, and create programs that provide emotional and financial support to families and communities affected by the disease.
Courses at Knox
Any three Biology courses, or any combination of Biology and the following:
PSYC 279 Health Psychology
SPST 260 Athletic Injuries
SPST 210 Sports Administration
PSYC 271 Human Sexuality
ECON 205 The Business of Health
SPST 202 Personal Health and Health Issues
HIST 267C History of Birth Control
Suggested Volunteer Opportunities
Harbor Light Hospice
Knox County Health Department -Safe Harbor
Knox County Red Cross
United Way of Knox County
Best Buddies
Special Olympics
Big Pink Volleyball
Polar Plunge
Bowl for Kids Sake
ASHA for Life
CASA Organization
Blood Drives
Environment
Help forge a global movement to protect our planet. Volunteers lead grassroots efforts in their communities to protect the environment and strengthen understanding of environmental issues. They teach environmental awareness in elementary and secondary schools and to youth groups and community organizations, empowering communities to make their own decisions about how to protect and conserve the local environment. Volunteers also address environmental degradation by promoting sustainable use of natural resources.
Lead grassroots efforts to fight hunger in a changing world. Agricultural Volunteers work with small-scale farmers and families to increase food security and production and adapt to climate change while promoting environmental conservation practices. They introduce farmers to techniques that prevent soil erosion, reduce the use of harmful pesticides, and replenish the soil. They work alongside farmers on integrated projects that often combine vegetable gardening, livestock management, agroforestry, and nutrition education.
Courses at Knox
Any combination of the following:
ENVS 242 Hydrology
ENVS 260 World Resources
BIO 160 Plants
BIO 390 Plant Biology
ECON 110 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON/ENVS 368 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
ECON 373 Economic Development
ENVS 174 Urban Agriculture
ENVS 241 Soil Science
BIO 320 Ethnobotany
PS 360 Politics of Climate Change
Suggested Volunteer Opportunities
Knox Farm
Community Garden
Knox Corps
Growing Galesburg
Farmers Market Galesburg
En Season Restaurant
Sitka Salmon Shares
Youth in Development
Empower the next generation of changemakers. Volunteers work with youth in communities on projects that promote engagement and active citizenship, including gender awareness, employability, health and HIV/AIDS education, environmental awareness, sporting programs, and information technology.
Courses at Knox
Any combination of the following:
PSYC 203 Developmental Psychology
EDUC 201 School and Society
EDUC 204 Psychological Foundations of Education
EDUC 205 Adolescent Development
EDUC 301 Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World
ENG 323 Studies in Adolescent Literature
SPST 225 Fundamentals of Coaching
ANSO 280/281 Social Service Internship
GWST 101 Women, Culture, and Society
GWST 208 The Sociology of Gender
GWST 275 Psychology of Gender
Suggested Volunteer Opportunities
Boys and Girls Club
Eye to Eye
Knox College-College for Kids
Girl Scouts
Knox County Housing Authority -Discovery Depot
Community Economic Development
Harness 21st-century tools to help communities lift themselves. Volunteers work with development banks, nongovernmental organizations, and municipalities to strengthen infrastructure and encourage economic opportunities in communities. They frequently teach in classroom settings and work with entrepreneurs and business owners to develop and market their products. Some Volunteers also teach basic computer skills and help communities take advantage of technologies such as e-commerce, distance learning, and more.
Knox Prairie Community Kitchen -Galesburg Visitors and Convention Bureau
Kiwanis
NAACP
Galesburg Civic Art Center
Knox Corps
Prairie Players Theater
Peace Corps Tip! Nearly two-thirds of Peace Corps Volunteers serve in Education or Health. Coursework and meaningful experience in one of these areas - especially teaching English as a second/foreign language - produce some of the strongest candidates.
