The Peace Corps’ Power of Partnership

As an undergraduate, Emma Bixler F24 FG28 studied international relations and communication with an interest in becoming a journalist, a career path that she thought could enable her to travel the world. When one of her friends joined the Peace Corps, Bixler saw an opportunity to marry her dream of an international career with her background in French and regional interest in West Africa. 

“I was interested in international relations and international journalism and thought the Peace Corps would be a good way to experience a part of the world that I didn't know much about,” said Bixler. “I could learn about a different culture authentically and gain a skill set that is applicable in many fields, no matter where you go after the Peace Corps.”

Learning the Value of Co-Teaching

With an offer to work as an education volunteer in Benin, a French-speaking country in West Africa, Bixler traveled to Lokossa in the country’s southeast for initial training before moving to a small village in the country’s northwest. She worked at a secondary school, teaching English to students from sixth to ninth grade alongside Beninese teachers. 

“I think co-teaching is one of the most valuable skills the Peace Corps promotes in terms of sharing knowledge and cross-cultural education,” said Bixler. 

Working alongside local teachers taught Bixler about both pedagogy and the village’s local culture, instilling in her a profound appreciation for the value of community engagement. 

“I was in a small village in northern Benin where every day I was going to school, teaching English and getting to know these students and teachers,” she said. “The most valuable thing that you can get from the Peace Corps is the relationships that you make, and you're always getting more than you're giving.”

“Benin is a small country,” she added. “It has a really distinct culture, so immersion into the community can be a challenge. It can be quite isolating, but when you make friendships, it unlocks your experience.”

Following the Path from Benin to Fletcher

Bixler’s experience in Benin was eye-opening and caused her to pivot from journalism into another path – academia. 

“The Peace Corps led me directly to Fletcher,” said Bixler. “When I left Benin, I knew that I wanted to do something within international development and work with young women.”

“At school, we had a girls’ club where we would talk about issues of mentorship, health, women's equality and educational equality,” she added. “That really stuck with me, so when I applied to Fletcher, I was interested in international education development within the gender and intersectional analysis space. Because Fletcher is one of the only international affairs schools that has a GAIA program, it was particularly appealing to me.”

As a student in the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy program, Bixler found ample opportunities to explore and apply her interests. She planned the annual Conference on Gender and International Affairs and took an environmental humanities course, which sparked a deeper curiosity about the intersection of gender, identity and environmental issues. 

“I often think of Benin in this position with natural resource extraction right next door in the Niger Delta. In light of climate change, how is this going to impact communities?” she said. “I think about the people who I was closest to, and even in our own communities here in the United States – these environmental issues are impacting the world and are only getting worse.”

Engagement with Local Partners

Now as a doctoral student at Fletcher, Bixler examines the complexities of these topics in greater depth. As she begins work on her dissertation, one core lesson from the Peace Corps informs her entire approach to her research. 

“One thing that I learned in the Peace Corps that I'm absolutely taking with me in the PhD program is that you cannot do local work, whether it's in development or research, without a really strong local partnership,” she said. “It is absolutely crucial to find and work with local researchers who know the context, who are passionate about the same work and who have the expertise that I might not have because I'm not from that area.”

“If I'm writing a dissertation on a community in West Africa, I better be working with people from that community,” she added. “Having lived in a small village in Benin, I wouldn't have been able to do the work that I did there without my co-teachers, friends and that really strong community that I built. Bringing together our expertise led us to be successful. That's all due to the community. I think about that as I’m planning my research proposal and dissertation – how am I going to be able to develop those local partnerships that make the work possible?”

Read more about Fletcher’s PhD programs.