Pell Center to hold roundtable with Peace Corps volunteer sent home due to pandemic

The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy will host a roundtable discussion featuring Hannah Lussier ‘18, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador until March 2020 when the Peace Corps announced its temporary suspension of volunteer operations and evacuated its volunteers from their worldwide posts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lussier will share her experience serving as a Peace Corps volunteer with members of the Salve Regina community on Thursday, April 30 at 11:45 on WebEx.

Hannah Lussier ‘18, who double majored at Salve Regina in global studies and Spanish with a minor in philosophy, worked in Santa Rosa, Ecuador, in the Peace Corps as a TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) teacher for over a year.

“I wanted to take a deeper dive into South America, and I’m interested in sort of following an international involvement career,” said Lussier. “So … on-the-ground experience in a foreign country is super important to that field, because it allows us to learn more about the specific cultural context that we’re making policy for.”

Originally from Massachusetts, Lussier spent her days in South America helping local teachers improve the command of their English language, increasing student participation in English class and encouraging community involvement in the school environment. She lived with a host family and knew just a handful of people that were familiar with the U.S. or spoke English.

While Lussier was planning to spend on more year in Ecuador, unfortunately, her time with the Peace Corp was cut short, and she was abruptly sent home. To hear about Lussier’s adventure living overseas and navigating a pandemic, RSVP to pellcenter@salve.edu.