Evangel alumna joins the Peace Corps
Contact: Scot Roskelly, 312-353-7716, pressoffice@PeaceCorps.gov, Peace Corps Chicago Regional Office
August 4, 2006
Washington, D.C. — Bianca Kristine Flokstra, daughter of Gary and Glenna Flokstra of Springfield, Mo., has been accepted into the Peace Corps.
Flokstra, 22, will be departing for Burkina Faso on September 25 to become a small business development volunteer. Her work will include training entrepreneurs and enhancing the business skills of developing cooperatives.
A graduate of Kickapoo High School, Flokstra attended Evangel University in Springfield, and earned a bachelor of business administration degree in management and marketing in 2006. She previously worked as a business lab assistant at Evangel University and was president of the Students in Free Enterprise program during the 2005-2006 school year.
Flokstra joined the Peace Corps because of a passion for learning about other cultures and peoples. She lived in the Philippines, where her parents were missionaries, until she was 13 years old. While attending Evangel University, she traveled to Nicaragua on a missions trip and to China with a business learning program. Having lived in the Philippines, she wants to continue giving back with a similar mission.
During the first three months of her service, Flokstra will live with a host family in Burkina Faso to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the language and cultural skills necessary to assist her community, Flokstra will serve for two years in her host community, living at the same level as the local people.
Currently, there are 102 volunteers serving in Burkina Faso, situated in western Africa. Since the program’s start in 1966 more than 1,280 have served there. Following an eight-year absence, Peace Corps volunteers returned to the nation in 1995, and assist communities in the areas of health, education and business development. All volunteers, regardless of sector, are trained in how to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.
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 volunteers have served.
Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.