The Office of International Affairs has deemed this week International Education Week at N.C. State.
Education Week began yesterday with a reception that took place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Brooks Hall.
The event will continue today with a lecture from Peace Corps Deputy Director Jody Olsen. The lecture, titled “Embracing Multicultural Diversity in Education,” will take place today at 5:30 p.m. in 1402 Broughton Hall.
According to a press release from the Peace Corps Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Olsen “will comment on diversity as it impacts educators and students in their roles in education.”
The press release also said that Olsen will discuss what roles Peace Corps volunteers play and what experiences can be gained from volunteering.
Bartel Kendrick, the public affairs specialist with the Peace Corps Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, said that there are a variety of advantages and opportunities that volunteering for the Peace Corps can provide for recent college graduates.
“The main advantages of volunteering for the Peace Corps are the opportunities for cross-cultural training, the opportunity to live overseas for a two-year period, the chance to improve language skills and the opportunity to compete for government jobs after returning from Peace Corps service,” he said.
According to the Peace Corps press release, the Peace Corps is currently at a 30-year high in the number of volunteers serving in the field. The release also states that there are currently 7,810 volunteers serving in 75 countries.
Kendrick said that the recent increase in volunteers can be explained in part by recent world events.
“There has been an increased level of enthusiasm for service. Since 9/11, more people have become interested in helping others overseas,” he said. “The idea of helping yourself through helping others is also a very big factor in this.”
In addition to volunteers serving in traditional Peace Corps service, the Corps also operates a separate Crisis Corps program, whose volunteers have served in recent years in Guatemala, assisting victims of Hurricane Stan, and in Thailand and Sri Lanka, helping victims of the tsunamis.
For the first time in Peace Corps history, the organization sent volunteers to help domestically, assisting people Hurricane Katrina displaced.
The speech will not be the first time that the Peace Corps makes its presence felt on campus.
The agency operates an office on campus, and, according to campus recruiter Evan Baker, about 40 NCSU graduates choose to volunteer for the Peace Corps program every year. Baker said that these numbers could be explained in part by some of the advantages that the Peace Corps program offers.
“I think that the greatest advantages the program offers are the overall experiences of adapting cross-culturally, pushing yourself to improve and getting leadership experience,” he said. “Students can also get experience in their chosen career field that they just wouldn’t be able to get at an entry-level job in the private sector.”
International Education Week will also include an International Film Festival, a passport fair and a cross-cultural diversity simulation exercise.
