A bright strand in the fabric of our 90-year history is the link between the Peace Corps and School for International Training. SIT was founded in 1964 after former Experimenter Sargent Shriver asked us to train the first outbound Peace Corps volunteers. Here’s what some more recent SIT and returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCV) had to say about SIT, the Peace Corps, and the shared values that enhanced their experiences:
RPCV Mozambique
MA, Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management, SIT
SIT admissions counselor
“The drive to learn about and understand other cultures in a deep and meaningful way is one of the main things the Peace Corps and SIT have in common. SIT can help you intellectualize the Peace Corps experience … to help you understand what you learned with your mind and your heart.”
RPCV Armenia
MA, Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation, SIT
Community planning and development representative, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
“Coming to SIT and learning the skills gave me a lot of places to reflect back on my Peace Corps service and see why one project went well, or where I could have done better. So, it has informed my service after the fact, and there are times I wish I could do Peace Corps again utilizing the skills I have now.”
RPCV Morocco and Jamaica
MA Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management, SIT
Assistant professor, George Washington University
[SIT] “was where I first learned to be a facilitator, to develop workshops and training programs. It’s where I learned how to connect with a room of 150 people or a room of 10. That has helped me a lot over the course of my career, being able to engage with people in large and small audiences, in training workshops, classrooms, and one on one.”
RPCV Philippines
MA in Climate Change & Global Sustainability, SIT
Senior campaign coordinator, Union of Concerned Scientists
“I think that my SIT experience was enhanced by the Peace Corps values of flexibility and resiliency. Adapting to learning in a new culture can be challenging, but the preparation from my Peace Corps service experience and the SIT program were a great match!”
