WWU's Austin Kincaid and Samantha Russell Selected for Peace Corps

Contact: Max Shipley, Peace Corps Public Affairs, (206) 239-6617 or mshipley@peacecorps.gov 

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University graduates and Bellingham residents Austin Kincaid and Samantha Russell have been selected by the Peace Corps for work in the Philippines and Fiji.

Kincaid has been selected for youth development in the Philippines and departs on Friday, July 1. His Peace Corps work will include working with at-risk youth.

“I want to show myself I can do something substantial. I don't want to spin my wheels, wishing I was doing something, anything, other than working an entry-level job as a college graduate,” Kincaid said.

Kincaid received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from WWU in 2010 and graduated from Clallam Bay High School in 2007. He has worked at an adolescent rehabilitation center for girls for the last two years where he has had the chance to interact with teens who are in the midst of addiction. Kincaid is interested in a career counseling youth.

Russell has been selected by the Peace Corps for environmental resources management in Fiji and departs on Tuesday, May 17.

Russell’s Peace Corps work will include assisting Fijian community members to sustain their natural resources and improve their livelihoods through increased environmental awareness.

“I am hoping that Fiji provides me with an opportunity to create lasting relationships, both professionally and personally, and the chance to use my existing knowledge and preparation from Western to become a catalyst for small, meaningful changes that make a difference for community members' daily lives,” Russell said.

Russell, a 2007 graduate of Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif., received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science - Marine Ecology from WWU in 2011.

More than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 countries since 1961; of these, more than 800 have been graduates of Western, which annually is among the most active Peace Corps campuses in the nation. Through their service, volunteers increase awareness of America around the world and help gain an understanding of other cultures beyond our borders.

Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. Volunteers live and work with a community overseas to reach goals in education, health, business, agriculture, the environment, youth development and more. Peace Corps volunteers spend their first three months of service in training, living with a host family and studying the local language and culture.

For more information contact Max Shipley, Peace Corps Public Affairs, at (206) 239-6617 or mshipley@peacecorps.gov.