Salt Lake City resident joins the Peace Corps

SALT LAKE CITY — Megan Elise Hillyard, 23, daughter of David and Eve Hillyard of Salt Lake City, has been accepted into the Peace Corps.

Hillyard will be departing for Namibia Nov. 6 to become an education Peace Corps volunteer. Hillyard’s work will include teaching English to high school students in the local community.

A graduate of Rowland Hall St. Marks High School, she attended the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 2005. Hillyard spent the past year working as an English teacher in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.

Hillyard joined the Peace Corps because she loves traveling to new places and wanted to improve her teaching skills. "I wanted to involve myself in a project where I could intimately learn about a foreign culture – its customs, language, values, and interests," Hillyard said.

During the first three months of her service, Hillyard will live with a host family in Namibia to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills necessary to work with and assist her community, Hillyard will serve for two years in her host community, living with the local people.

Hillyard joins nearly 50 other Utah residents and 19 University of Utah graduates currently serving in the Peace Corps. Since the Peace Corps’ inception in 1961, 853 Utahns and 541 University of Utah alumni have served as volunteers.

The Peace Corps entered Namibia, formerly known as West South Africa, in 1990, soon after independence was gained. While serving in the western African nation, volunteers primarily concentrate upon education, health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Since 1990, more than 800 volunteers have served in Namibia. Currently, Namibia is hosting 86 volunteers.

The Peace Corps is celebrating a 45-year legacy of service at home and abroad, and a 30-year high for volunteers in the field. Since 1961, more than 182,000 volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 138 countries where the volunteers have served. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old. Peace Corps service is a 27 month commitment.