Avalena Everard ’20 will work alongside community members in Uganda to support urgent development efforts

TACOMA, Wash. – University of Puget Sound graduate Avalena Everard ’20 is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency’s unprecedented global evacuation in March 2020. The Peace Corps suspended global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The two-year commitment to Peace Corps will allow me time to get to know the Ugandan community and its people,” said Everard. “I feel inspired by the Peace Corps and its efforts to empower communities through locally driven projects.”

Everard graduated from Puget Sound in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She will serve as a volunteer in Uganda in the agriculture sector.