Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program recipient announced
February 13, 2012
The Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development announced its first recipient of the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program.
Jacqueline Rahm, who is working towards her doctorate in Indigenous Studies, received the award.
DANSRD offers one award annually to a graduate student who is a returned Peace Corps
volunteer. The recipient completes an internship intended to advance the needs of
a local community or non-profit organization while receiving a tuition waiver and
stipend for the academic year. Through the fellows program, Rahm can further her graduate
studies while supporting a grass-roots wellness initiative.
Rahm volunteered in Nepal from 1987 - 1989 teaching in a remote village school in
the western region of that Himalayan country. In 1995, she received her master's in
community psychology at University of Alaska Fairbanks returning to Nepal to research
indigenous psychologies and traditional healing. The Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell
Fellows Program allows her to pursue her interests working with DANSRD and through
a local non-profit, Shaping New Worlds, to explore Alaska Natives perspectives on indigenous healing, wellness, and the need
for culturally appropriate health services. This program allows many returned Peace
Corps volunteers to continue building relationships and sharing cultural knowledge.