Graduate to speak about her work in Uzbekistan with the Peace Corps on Nov. 27
Wake Forest University graduate and Peace Corps volunteer Jessica Jackson will speak at Wake Forest about her work with the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan on Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. The program is part of the university’s Year of Unity and Hope: Pro Humanitate at Work. It is free and open to the public.
Jackson joined the Peace Corps after she graduated from Wake Forest in May of 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in art history. The Peace Corps sent her to Uzbekistan, a Muslim country on Afghanistan’s northwestern border, to teach English. There, she also started a library to help local people have access to English language books and coached a baseball team. She also founded an “empowerment camp” for teenage girls that focused on self-esteem building and offered information about women’s health issues.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America, the Peace Corps evacuated workers from the Middle East, and Jackson returned to the United States. She is now speaking to community groups to educate people about Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, and the region around it.
“Uzebekistan is a part of the world that most Americans don’t know much about, even though it is on the news now every day,” Jackson said.
“Most of the questions I get are about why the people there supposedly hate America so much, and I try to answer by putting a human face on the issues. We have to remember that there are people behind all the politics.”
At Wake Forest, Jackson will speak about her 13 months in Uzbekistan during a slide show presentation. She will also speak about careers in the Peace Corps and answer questions from the audience.
For more information about the Year of Unity and Hope at Wake Forest, visit the theme year Web site, www.wfu.edu/unity.
Categories: Experiential Learning, Happening at Wake
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