March 1st marks the 60 year anniversary of the United States Peace Corps. Over two generations ago, President John F. Kennedy asked idealistic young Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”On that historic day in March, Kennedy signed Executive Order 10924, sending 750 volunteers on a historic journey to 13 countries. Northwestern has certainly done its part as one of the top volunteer-producing universities in the country. Since the program’s inception, Northwestern has sent nearly 1000 volunteers to serve overseas in the Peace Corps.
I swore into the Peace Corps with my cohort of 37 in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, in 2016. During the ceremony, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa referred to us as “grassroots ambassadors,” a pretty accurate description of our mission. Now all the grassroots ambassadors are gone, as the Director of the Peace Corps Judy Olsen made the historic decision last March to recall all 7,000 volunteers in over 50 countries back to the United States due to the ever-increasing risks associated with COVID-19 and the worldwide pandemic. This was the first time in the storied 60 year history of the Peace Corps that there have been no volunteers in the field. As I hope for a quick return of the volunteers into the field, it has become apparent that in a post-pandemic world, the U.S. Peace Corps will be needed more than ever.