In March of 2020, the world was just beginning to understand the life-altering scale of the COVID-19 pandemic. That month the Peace Corps suspended its operations across the globe and recalled nearly 7,000 volunteers in more than 60 countries. Now, a Vermonter will be among the first volunteers heading back overseas.
The Peace Corps announced this month its once again sending volunteers abroad for two years of international service. Essex Junction resident Benjamin Nelson will be among the first volunteers returning to service when he heads to Kenya as a health volunteer.
Nelson is a Johnson State College alum—a school that's now part of Vermont State University—and he joins the ranks of the more than 1,600 Vermonters who have joined the Peace Corps since it was founded in 1961.
Vermont Edition host Connor Cyrus spoke with him about his path to the Peace Corps.
Broadcast at noon on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2022; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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