Interview with Judith Guskin, February 18, 2023
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Judith Guskin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, from 1961 through 1964, in the Education Program. Judith was attending the University of Michigan when JFK gave his historic impromptu speech to students at 2:00AM. Inspired by the speech, Judith and Al Guskin, her husband at the time, became activists for the Peace Corps. They worked for the Peace Corps in the early days helping to develop selection processes and programs. While setting up the Thailand program, Judith decided she would volunteer and joined the first group. She worked at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education in Bangkok developing education programs for juniors and seniors. Judith loved living in Thailand and became close friends with colleagues and students. After leaving the Peace Corps, Judith was asked to help set up VISTA, primarily establishing training programs. She later worked as a consultant to school districts nationally, developing and researching programs involving bi-lingual education, desegregation planning, and programs serving Southeast Asian refugees. Judith made documentary films for the Peace Corps’s 25th and 45th anniversaries and many other educational documentaries. She has been involved with and has continued as an advocate for the Peace Corps her entire adult life.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
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Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (U.S.) Thailand (country of service) 1961-1964 (date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Thailand 1 group Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Peace Corps (U.S.)—History Peace Corps (U.S.)—Management Peace Corps (U.S.) – Training Peace Corps (U.S.)– Recruitment and intake University of Michigan Kennedy Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thai (language) Shriver bi-lingual education documentary film Peace Corps anniversaries VISTAInterview Rights
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Guskin, Judith Interview by Julius Sztuk. 18 Feb. 2023. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Guskin, J. (2023, February 18). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Guskin, Judith, interview by Julius Sztuk. February 18, 2023, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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