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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula October 5, 2001 Peace Corps Press Release © 2001

Peace Corps recruiter to visit MTU, NMU campuses

HOUGHTON -- Colleen Marchwick, Peace Corps recruiter, will be visiting the Michigan Tech campus on Monday, October 15, and Tuesday, October 16. She will be at information tables in Fisher Hall and the Memorial Union Building from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both days and will hold an informational meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16, in the Alumni Lounge of the Memorial Union.

Following her MTU visit Colleen will talk to Northern Michigan University students in Marquette. She will be available at the Information Table, Atrium University Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 18. From 6 p. m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday evening she will speak at a General Information Meeting, Superior Room, University Center.

Colleen was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco in the 1990s. She now works in the Peace Corps Chicago regional office and helps applicants from the Upper Peninsula.

This foot bridge in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco is one of several projects coordinated by Michigan Tech Peace Corps Volunteer Michael Downs. (Photo courtesy Blair Orr, professor of forestry and coordinator of the MTU Peace Corps Master's International Program)

When the Peace Corps was established in the 1960s most volunteers lacked technical skills but were still able to contribute to the development of communities. Today developing countries need students with practical skills in the applied sciences, precisely the types of people who graduate from Michigan Tech. The Peace Corps and Michigan Tech have teamed up to design The Loret Miller Ruppe Peace Corps Master's International Program in Forestry for students with an undergraduate degree in any discipline who are interested in a career in forestry, environmental sciences and policy, and natural resource management.

Lynne Kraskouskas, Michigan Tech Peace Corps Volunteer, in Gabon. (Photo courtesy Blair Orr, professor of forestry and coordinator of the MTU Peace Corps Master's International Program)

MTU Peace Corps Volunteers have worked on a variety of projects in several developing nations. Andrea Telmo has worked in water and sanitation development in Mali. Margaret Shao has helped plan and build a new school in northern Ghana. Amy Collick worked on sustainable forestry and agriculture in Madagascar. Nate Reents plans and oversees the construction of water supply systems in Honduras. All of these Michigan Tech students have lived and worked with the citizens of their host countries and have been able to use the knowledge they acquired while students at Michigan Tech.

Information about the Peace Corps can be found by visiting their Web site at www.peacecorps.gov, by calling 1-800-424-8580 or by writing to:

Colleen Marchwick
Recruitment Representative/RPCV Morocco '93-'95
Peace Corps Regional Office
55 West Monroe Street, Suite 450
Chicago, IL 60603
Direct Dial: (312) 353-7748
Outside Chicago (800) 424 8580
Fax: (312) 353-4192