WASHINGTON, DC — Peace Corps and the University of Maryland, Baltimore announced the launch of a new Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program housed in the School of Nursing.
The program offers scholarships to returned Peace Corps volunteers pursuing a Master of Science Clinical Nurse Leader program or the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. All program Fellows will complete internships in underserved American communities while they pursue their studies, allowing them to bring home and expand upon the skills they learned as volunteers.
Returned Peace Corps volunteers selected as Coverdell Fellows for the School of Nursing program will receive $2,500 off of tuition per semester or $10,000 over the course of a two-year program.
Through their internships, Coverdell Fellows apply what they learn in the classroom to a professional setting. They gain valuable, hands-on experience that makes them more competitive in today’s job market while furthering the Peace Corps mission. By sharing their global perspective with the communities they serve, Fellows help fulfill Peace Corps’ Third Goal commitment to strengthen Americans’ understanding of the world and its people.
Fellows will complete their internship at the Community Engagement Center, University of Maryland Baltimore where they will work directly with low-income and underserved community members in West Baltimore or at the Julie Community Center, a multi-purpose community center in Baltimore City, serving low-income families.
The Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program began in 1985 at Teachers College, Columbia University and now includes more than 100 university partners across the country, from the District of Columbia to Hawaii. The program is reserved for students who have successfully completed Peace Corps service abroad. Since the inception of the program, more than 5,000 returned volunteers have participated and made a difference across the country. For more information, visit www.peacecorps.gov/fellows.
To learn more about the Coverdell Fellows Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, contact: Lori Edwards, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore, (410) 706-1929 or email: Edwards@son.umaryland.edu