NHS Graduate Serving In Colombia With Peace Corps
Kevin T. Dixon, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dixon, 21 Maple Street, Norwood, is one of 28 athletic instructors who left on Sunday, January 20, for Peace Corps service in Colombia as an athletic instructor.
Kevin, a 1958 graduate of Norwood High School, where he was, a sports star, was graduated from Denver University in 1962, and played both basketball and baseball at Denver.
Kevin, and the other Peace Corps volunteers will work as athletic instructors in universities, high schools, and recreation leagues in Colombia.
For this project, the Peace Corps has combined with the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPER), which will help the Peace Corps administer the project in Colombia. AAHPER, a department of the National Education Association, has worked with the U.S. State Derailment in sending physical education specialists to many countries, including Colombia.
A staff member of AAHPER has served as a physical educational advisor in Colombia.
The Volunteers in this project received 10 weeks of Intensive training at Texas Western College (El Paso). They trained alongside another group of 29 Volunteers who departed for Colombia only a week earlier to teach English at the university level. The physical education Volunteers took their home leave over the Christmas holidays and have just completed two weeks of rigorous training at Camp. Crozier, a Peace Corps field training camp In Puerto Rico.
They departed directly from the San Juan airport at 5:30 a.m., January 20. on Avianca Flight No. 71, arriving In Bogota at 8:20 that same morning.
After a week of local orientation. the Volunteers will be assigned to universities throughout Colombia. They will serve as coaches and physical education instructors Sn such sports as basketball, baseball, swimming, track, gymnastics, and weight lifting. Most Volunteers will be paired with Colombian co-workers who will be able to take over when the Volunteers return to the U.S.
With the arrival of the physical education Instructors, there will be a total of 224 Volunteers in Colombia.