OSU students receive Peace Corps honor
Monday, October 3, 2011
OSU students receive Peace Corps honor
Jim and Robin Eleazer, students in Oklahoma State University School of International Studies Masters International Program, were awarded the first-ever Certificate of Merit from the Peace Corps.
The Eleazers are in located in Western Ukraine in Dolyna, a city of about 20,000 people. They are in a rayon center (county) that serves approximately 14 villages for a total of 43,000 people.
“We were placed here in June 2009 after three months of language and culture school and are two of 466 volunteers in Ukraine,” Robin Eleazer said. “We are in the largest Peace Corps country in the world.”
Their service was complete in June 2011 but they have extended it for an additional year. They will now complete their service in September 2012.
Robin Eleazer said her and her husband are both in the area of community development. She is placed with the city of Boykyschyna Muesum and Jim is placed in the Dolyna Town Council.
“We have a wonderful mayor who travels world-wide and comes back with many, many ideas on how to better our city for our citizens,” she said. “He turns to us for many of these projects.”
Their goals for community development have been to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to influence change in their own communities. They are doing this by building relationships, introducing new ideas, involving as many people as possible, providing training and train trainers, involving local leadership, while working with government officials. In addition, they are developing community advisory boards, performing outreach to the community, developing volunteer programs, introducing concepts of fund raising and lastly, introducing marketing and the promotions of events.
She said for them this means providing training on volunteerism, fund raising, grant writing, EU grant writing, advocacy, working with the media and the day-to-day training of three young women on community development and how to run a non-governmental organization.
Robin and Jim Eleazer’s work with the Peace Corps has taught them numerous things and she said it has reinforced to her how important it is to be patient and have determination.
“Living daily in a foreign country can be tiring due to the cultural differences and communication differences,” Robin Eleazer said. “The fond memories of our new Ukrainian and American Peace Corps volunteer friends are the most important things we will bring home with us as a result of this experience. We love our lives and would do it all over again.”
The Master’s International program provides the opportunity to incorporate Peace Corps service into the master’s in International Studies degree plan. Candidates receive 9 credit hours in SIS masters program for their Peace Corps service and 24 credit hours must be completed before entering the Peace Corps. After their Peace Corps service, students enroll in 9 hours to finish their degree.
To learn more about the OSU School of International Studies Master’s International Program visit http://iso.okstate.edu/ieo.aspx?page=3.