On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the executive order that created the Peace Corps. At UW–Madison, we celebrate the founding of the agency each year in a variety of ways, and invite the campus and community to celebrate with us from February 23-March 1, 2025. In addition to the events listed below, during Peace Corps week you can also see a display of photographs taken by Peace Corps Volunteers in the hall outside the UW Peace Corps recruiter’s office, 260 Bascom Hall.
Expanded Recruiter Office Hours
February 24, 2025 12-2PM-Memorial Union, 1st Floor
February 25, 2025 1-3PM Union South, 1st Floor
February 27, 2025 2-4PM–200-B Bascom Hall
Are you ready to apply to serve in the Peace Corps? Just want to find out more about it? Come talk to the Campus Recruiter. This week she will be stationed in different locations around Campus, ready to talk to you about the process of applying, the benefits of serving, and what your day to day life as a Peace Corps Volunteer might be like.
February 25, 2025
Peace Corps Advocates Meeting with Speaker James Hickey, RPCV Senegal
6:00-7:00 PM Memorial Union, National Pan-Hellenic Council room, 2nd Floor
All are welcome to come to this meeting of the Peace Corps Advocates, a student group that supports the campus recruiter and helps prepare students for Peace Corps service after graduation. At this meeting, we will have James Hickey, who served as an Agriculture volunteer in Senegal share some stories and photos from his service. Come one, come all!
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Peace Corps Story Slam 2025: “Tales of Transformation”
7:00-9:00 PM @ The Play Circle in Memorial Union
Come to hear speakers from almost every geographic area of Peace Corps as they entertain and engage you in stories from their service. This year’s Story Slam theme is “Tales of Transformation.”
Story-tellers share 5-minute stories to illustrate questions like… What was your “aha” moment in Peace Corps? What happened that suddenly the reason for your service became clear? Or that your reason for being in that country, at that time, became clear?
Are you an RPCV with a story to tell? There may be room for you to participate. Sign up here before February 10th.
Check back here for more information as we get closer to the event.
FEBRUARY 27, 2024
Application Workshop
5:30-7 PM @ Bascom Hall Room 55
Sign up for this workshops to get help on the Peace Corps application process. If you are a junior or senior (or anyone ready to apply to Peace Corps in the next 18 months) and thinking about Peace Corps as a post-graduation, the timing of this workshop is perfect for you. You will be introduced to the application form, the federal resume format, and get tips on how to write motivation statements that will catch the attention of interviewers.
This workshop will be presented by the campus Peace Corps recruiter and Sydney Goggins of the UW-Madison Writing Center. Registration are open now: https://go.wisc.edu/u4vn94
MARCH 1, 2025
Freeze for Food 5K and 10K
Both races begin and end @ the Vilas Park Shelter
Join the Freeze for Food 5K/10K, sponsored by the RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison. We raise funds to support food security programs of Madison’s Open Doors for Refugees, a nonprofit organization dedicated to welcoming refugees to the Madison area and supporting their resettlement. Register to run in the race here, or sign up to volunteer to support the race.
Sponsors
Thank you to all of the sponsors of Peace Corps Week 2024!
Cosponsored by UW-Madison schools and departments: International Division ▪ Writing Center ▪ Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin – Madison ▪ Wisconsin Union