Q&A with Jake Meyers, MDP Student and Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow

Jake Meyers is a Coverdell Fellow in the UArizona Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) Program. Jake served in the Peace Corps in Benin in West Africa from 2015 to 2017. The Coverdell Fellowship Program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) covers substantial portions of tuition through an outreach assistantship that places students with local agencies in Tucson. 

What was a major highlight of your time in the Peace Corps in Benin? 

One day I'll never forget during my Peace Corps (PC) service was International Women's Day. While my official job title in the Peace Corps was Environmental Action Advisor for Food Security, I routinely engaged in cross-sector initiatives such as gender equality. After working with teachers and several community leaders on how to encourage higher female participation rates in school, we developed the idea of hosting a march in town to start a discussion on gender equality in the classroom (pictured below).

On International Women's Day, we had over 500 girls take to the streets demanding an equal opportunity to pursue an education. We had police officers escort the girls through town while everyone stopped and listened to what they had to say. The march ended at the doorstep of the mayor's office, where a local radio stationed broadcasted a speech from the mayor where he committed to making changes and encouraging girls to stay in the classroom. During the march, the girls decided to chant "We are the girls, the mighty, mighty girls." For the rest of my service, several girls would greet me with a smile and a fist in the air with that familiar chant. It was an incredible experience to be a part of and I'm proud of the volunteers and community members who have since continued this now-annual event.  

What drew you to the Arizona MDP program? 

While I was looking at different job opportunities that would interest me, it quickly became clear that a Master's program would give me the tools I needed to be a successful applicant and ultimately practitioner in those positions. While looking for graduate programs, I prioritized ones that are geared towards practitioners, not academics. Only a handful of programs immediately stood out and the MDP program at UArizona was one of them. What ultimately drew me to the Arizona MDP program was the number of outstanding faculty members engaged in climate change. UArizona, particularly MDP's own School of Geography & Development, has world renowned climate scientists and are engaged in several innovative initiatives that interest me as a practitioner. Last summer during my practicum, I was surprised by the response my colleagues at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi had to say when I shared some of the names of professors I worked with since starting the Arizona MDP program.  In addition to the school's strength in climate change, I also very much appreciated how our director is an anthropologist who deeply values socio-cultural aspects of development.

“A factor that drew me to UArizona is just how much fun I thought it would be to do grad school in Tucson, Arizona – just a mere hour or so from the border! I've spent my free time administering humanitarian aid for migrants in the desert, embedding myself in local community development issues, visiting farming sites in Mexico, and just enjoying breathtaking landscapes that have kept me fresh as I busy myself with my studies and work.” 

Your Coverdell Fellowship includes an outreach assistantship and participation in the on-campus RPCV community. What has that been like? 

For my first year, I decided to gain federal experience and interned with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division.  The Wage & Hour Division enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and fair labor laws. As one who is concerned with poverty alleviation, it was a fantastic experience to participate in federal cases with the regulatory agency in the U.S. that seeks to prevent poverty from underpaid workers. It was a great experience to work alongside Federal Investigators on a case that rewarded $1 million in back-wages back to workers who were underpaid by an abusive employer.  

For my second year, I accepted a position with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, a charitable foundation that has awarded over $176 million in grants and scholarships to local non-profits and education institutions. During my time here, I've had the chance to collaborate with the Community Investment teams and learn how grant-making works from a funder's perspective, and how to evaluate different community development initiatives. In addition, I have been able to incorporate my coursework in ecosystem services valuation and develop a new statistical tool that can quantify a nonprofit's willingness to collaborate in a novel research project that I hope to scale-up and publish.  My two Coverdell outreach positions have given me a new set of skills and experiences that will greatly aid me in my future career as a development practitioner, and have enabled me to compliment my studies in the classroom with real world experience.   

“After the MDP, I aim to continue working in the realm of climate adaptation and resiliency, whether that be with a multilateral organization, government agency, nonprofit, or private consulting firm. I'm confident in my abilities to move forward now and to secure a job that keeps me passionate about the field of development. I'm fortunate to have had an incredible amount of flexibility in this program to explore my interests while gaining practical experience in both community and international development.”