HWS News
14 March 2024 • Service Wise '24 Joins Peace Corps By Natalia St. Lawrence '16
After graduation, Ahmed Wise ’24 will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya for two years.
Ahmed Wise ’24 has been accepted into the Peace Corps. The educational studies and movement studies double major will serve as a Community Health Outreach Volunteer in Kenya.
Wise’s role will focus on assessing the community’s needs around wellness and care. “I want to see how I can contribute and how I can learn from the people around me,” he says. One of his responsibilities will be to create clubs where he can develop relationships with community members. He is already beginning to imagine workshops on topics including dance, yoga and meditation.
This spring, Alanson Loomis '24 was also accepted into the Peace Corps. Loomis will serve as a Peace Corps Community Economic Development Facilitator in Fiji.
Wise engages with many of these topics through his coursework in movement studies.
He began his academic journey in the Dance and Movement Studies Department during his First-Year Seminar “The Mindful Body” with Professor of Dance and Movement Studies Donna Davenport.
Wise was a member of the Hobart football team for two years, and immediately saw a connection between athletics and movement studies that he says expanded his understanding of physical exercise to include mental health and spirituality.
At HWS, Wise studied abroad twice. First, he participated in a three-week January term to Bali, Indonesia where he studied the country’s rich performing arts traditions with Associate Professor of Theatre Chris Hatch. Then, he studied abroad in South Africa where he enrolled in courses at Makhanda-Rhodes University.
“Studying abroad definitely made me consider working internationally. When you have the chance to meet different people, encounter different cultures, see how people carry themselves, you learn so much. You really open your eyes,” Wise says. “I want to see more of the world.”
In addition to Davenport and Hatch, Wise says he has been inspired by Associate Professor of Dance and Movement Studies Kelly Johnson, Assistant Professor of Educational Studies Jonathan Berhanu and Visiting Associate Professor of Africana Studies James McCorkle. He hopes to model their approaches to pedagogy and mentorship in his Peace Corps role.
Before applying, Wise also connected with President Mark D. Gearan, who previously served as the Director of the Peace Corps, to determine if the program was a good fit.
“I picked President Gearan’s brain,” says Wise. “His thing is he wants to give back and serve whatever community he’s in. I was able to see myself in that description. I’m blessed because I’ve had people who want to see me be great and I want to have a similar impact on young people.”
This spring, Wise is serving as a coordinator for the HWS Tutor Corps at West Street Elementary School. He has previously tutored at St. Francis & St. Stephen’s School and the Boys and Girls Club of Geneva. He is also an intern for Geneva Breathes, a nonprofit offering mindfulness workshops, and a Community Assistant in Sherrill Hall.
