Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program

Levesque was halfway through her service in rural Peru when she was evacuated to the U.S. due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She enrolled in the MS program in Global Health Policy and Management, and is now an analyst at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

She says, “Even in a pandemic, even with everything going wrong in the world, Heller did an amazing job of keeping everything on track and continuing to offer this program to people who needed it and who wanted to get back into the workforce... I have such gratitude for Heller... Heller was there for me and for many other Peace Corps volunteers when we really needed it. It has gotten me to exactly where I wanted to go.”

“What really got me interested in COEX was the civil war in Nepal that few people knew about in the West, between the communists and Nepali government,” says Kim, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal.

“They have now successfully integrated the communist party in the government system. Seeing how the two warring parties came together and can now live harmoniously, it changed my direction to focus more on negotiation.”

Lee has served in Central America as a Peace Corps volunteer twice—though her service was cut short both times, first because of political instability in Nicaragua, then because of COVID-19 while serving in Guatemala. When she returned to the U.S. in March 2020 at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, “I saw how public health was being undercut and how certain populations were being hurt,” she says. That’s when she decided to apply to graduate school.

“Heller is one of the few institutions where I saw an equal marriage of hard, corporate skills but also social justice values. I could learn to manage people and practice health equity in the same school.”

"I chose Heller because the Social Impact MBA and MA in Sustainable International Development dual degree program ensures that I get the technical training of a business student through a social impact and development lens. The rich knowledge of the international student base and the domestic students, who have a Peace Corps history, means that my education is informed by such diverse experiences. Being an RPCV, regardless of country of service, is a unique experience that having a strong community who not only relates to that experience, but can also relate to how that experience informs this learning experience, has proven to be invaluable. It has been really special to find a group that is exploring many avenues of development and can learn together."

Stoever served in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua. It was one of the few countries in the Peace Corps network that welcomed same sex couples. After hesitating throughout training, she decided to come out, and she stepped up to lead LGBT Safe Zone Trainings.

“Through the Safe Zone trainings, it was a powerful tool to change minds. I blogged about the trainings on the official Peace Corps site, and a lot of queer volunteers would read it and thank me for sharing.”

Shinagawa found Heller through the Peace Corps program website. “I was looking specifically for programs that focus on advancing social justice as part of their curriculum. I’ve always been a community organizer at heart. That’s my passion, and I’ve always known my interest was in reproductive health and reproductive justice, which is part of the reason why I decided to join the Peace Corps.” She says her Peace Corps experience also helped expose her to the role of direct service organizations, as part of her role included facilitating vaccinations and immunizations at a local health clinic. 

“As cliché as it sounds, I’ve always been interested in service,” says Herrera, who was sent to Lesotho, a tiny country in Southern Africa, as a community health volunteer. He worked with a local clinic and schools on a program to target HIV-positive youth, since Lesotho has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, and offered nutrition workshops and monitored malnourishment rates in the village.

At Heller, he’s been thrilled to find a welcoming community of RPCVs. “It’s hard to explain the bond that all the volunteers have. There’s a big readjustment when you come back, and it’s nice to find everyone.”

“To see social work in a developing country and have a different lens and approach, I learned again how much I appreciated understanding the bigger picture of macro systems of care,” says Evans, who served in Mongolia for two years. There, she met a Heller alumna, who recommended Heller to Evans as she started to think about pursuing a doctoral degree. As she learned about Heller’s health policy expertise and tight-knit community of returned Peace Corps volunteers, she decided it would be an ideal fit.