For Peter Ter, MA SID/COEX'14, attending the Sustainable International Development and Conflict Resolution and Coexistence programs was a way to show gratitude for the United States, his adopted country. Peter was born in war-torn Sudan during its civil war. Separated from his parents, he lived in refugee camps in Kenya and is one of the cohort known as the Lost Boys of Sudan. Sixteen years ago he moved to the U.S. and began a long journey in which education was essential to his development.
After graduating from the University of Florida, Peter joined the Peace Corps and worked in Azerbaijan for three years. It was through a Peace Corps newsletter that Peter formulated the idea of applying to the Heller School. Heller’s social justice mission sang to Peter, as dignity, fairness and social justice are values that echo loudly in his ears.
Peter values the theoretical and practical skills he acquired as a Heller student. “We go through simulations that relay real-world experiences. Our professors are respected international experts in their field — and we learn the word is mightier than guns, and that by bringing people together, they can work through their differences.”
Peter Ter is currently a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in the Republic of Georgia. In an article he wrote, titled “Why I love serving in the Peace Corps,” Peter says, “My next assignment will be working as an Azerbaijani-Speaking American English Teacher with Peace Corps Response in the Republic of Georgia. It will be challenging, but I am more than ready.”