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University of Portland nursing alumna to work with Peace Corps in Zambia
The University of Portland, ranked fourth nationally among its peer institutions in producing Peace Corps volunteers, is sending another graduate to serve abroad. Jennifer Rea Kuker, an alumna of the School of Nursing, departs for Zambia July 20 to begin service as a Community Health Development Extensionist Peace Corps volunteer. She will work with rural Zambians to promote sustainable strategies that mitigate effects of AIDS, malaria and malnutrition. Kuker will join 20 other undergraduate alumni of the University currently serving in the Peace Corps
“Nursing faculty prepare each graduate to be a ‘difference maker’ in the world,” said Joanne Warner, Dean of the School of Nursing. “Jennifer is a marvelous example of this passion for service and offering her nursing abilities to promote community health and healing. She goes with the prayers and best wishes of the School of Nursing.”
Kuker earned a bachelor of science in nursing in 2006 from the University and has previously worked as a surgical oncology nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center.
“In the Peace Corps, volunteers live for two years in a developing country and I wanted the opportunity to be fully immersed in a community,” Kuker said. “The Peace Corps provides community health nursing opportunities in developing countries, an area of nursing I’m interested in. I love this intentional effort by my country to send skilled citizens out in friendship and peace to share life skills and learn from people of another country.”
During the first three months of her service, Kuker will live with a host family in Zambia to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills necessary to assist her community, Kuker will serve for two years in Zambia, living in a manner similar to people in her host country.
In February, the Peace Corp released a study that recognized the University of Portland as a national leader in producing Peace Corps volunteers. UP was the only Oregon school to rank among the Top 5 nationally in any of the three classification groups – ‘small schools’ with less than 5,000 undergraduates, ‘medium schools’ with between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduates and ‘large schools’ with more than 15,000 undergraduates. The University of Portland, with 3,077 undergraduate students, placed fourth in the ‘small schools’ category.
Nearly 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Zambia since the program was established in 1993. Volunteers in this Southern African nation work in the areas of education, youth and community development, environmental and agricultural conservation, health and HIV/AIDS awareness, water sanitation and hygiene promotion, animal and wildlife preservation, business development, and information technology. Many volunteers working on HIV/AIDS prevention and care receive support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. Currently, 179 volunteers are serving in Zambia.
