Upon completion of service, returning Peace Corps volunteers will enroll as Fellows in the teacher certification program and teach at the Academy of the Redwoods. The Academy is an early college high school on the campus of College of the Redwoods in Eureka, making it possible for students to complete high school and two years of college in just four to five years.
The Academy principal and HSU professor Keri Gelenian served in Kenya as a Peace Corps volunteer and graduated from the Fellows/USA program at Columbia University.
"Fellows come with teaching experience, intercultural skills, confidence, and idealism. These attributes are highly valued," Gelenian said. "We expect that the students at the academy will learn a great deal about the world by having returned volunteers as their teachers."