Peace Corps, volunteerism at its best

Few young people under 30 can truly say that they give their lives away for others.  Some happen to be parents and in a sense, they do this every day.  But a select few have chosen to leave everything behind and spend 27 months in some remote part of the world helping develop a community. 

This is the path chosen by people like Elisa Molina, a native of the Dominican Republic who graduated in 2008 from Buffalo State University with bachelor in Business Administration and always had a heart for international development.  Upon graduation she was determined to become a Peace Corps volunteer.  When she moved to Washington, D.C. almost two years ago to work with the Pan American Health Organization, her goals did not change and now, after patiently waiting for her application to process, a year and two months later she finally heard back from the Peace Corps and received the acceptance letter she had longed for.  This March, Elisa begins her service in Costa Rica as a Community Economic Development volunteer. 

So what is the ‘big deal’ about volunteering through Peace Corps? Not simply plan a trip on your own or go through another organization?  You see, Peace Corps is possibly the most prominent and recognized volunteer organization established by the U.S. government. 

It started in 1961 to accomplish three goals (as listed on their website):

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Those who volunteer through Peace Corps choose a high call to serve because it involves a commitment of 27 months (3 of which are for training) to live and work with a community serving specific needs with the specific talents or expertise that volunteers have.  So while applicants may not simply choose where they want to serve, preferences are considered.  If an applicant speaks some Mandarin, it is likely that he or she will be sent to volunteer in Asia and not in Central America.  And if an applicant studied public health, they are very likely to be placed in a mission related to public health as opposed to an engineering project.  
Many programs to help in other countries charge the volunteers thousands of dollars for a few weeks or months.   But Peace Corps instead gives you an allowance to live as other people in your community would.  Also, once you return, you receive $6,000 to adjust back to life and the government also extends flexibility in the repayment of your federal loans for school tuition and in some cases partial debt forgiveness.

Yet these are only the financial benefits, and based on volunteer experiences I have read about and keep up with through friend’s blogs and e-mails, no financial compensation can compare to the personal satisfaction these volunteers benefit from as they become completely immersed in another culture.  To come to know what it is like to be a fisher in Tanzania, a farmer in Cambodia, or a school teacher in El Salvador, you must become like them and live among them.  Then to have the opportunity to help people develop their business, environmentally-friendly farming practices, advocate for better health care, or start a rural school, is an infinitely valuable experience no class room can offer. 

The leadership, administration, problem-solving skills and people skills learned during the two years of service are highly marketable in the work force, which is why having a Peace Corps experience in your resume increases your chances to attend the graduate school program or your choice or the job opportunity of your dreams. 

If you felt like volunteering in the Peace Corps would delay your plans for graduate school, there is a way to incorporate your volunteer experience with your graduate degree program (in participating schools) with a Master’s International (more information can be found on the Peace Corps website).
While the Peace Corps accepts volunteers between 18 and 50+ years of age, it is important to realize that for those of us who are in our early twenties, without kids or a mortgage, life has so much offer and our options are quite broad. 

We are worried about what we will do next weekend, where the next party is going to be at, what jobs we have to apply to, etc. But these years are some of the best years for us to be able to put it all aside and jump off into an adventure that could change our lives, make us stronger and make a huge difference in a community somewhere, improving the lives of many people.  It’s like what abuelita always said… Feed a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. To learn more about the Peace Corps go to www.peacecorps.gov To follow Elisa’s journey in Costa Rica visit www.mywillingnesstoserve.blogspot.com

Carolina Peña es escritora independiente, anfitriona de Generacion Latina y estudiante de comunicaciones en la Universidad de Maryland. Escríbale a Esta dirección de correo electrónico está protegida contra los robots de spam, necesitas tener Javascript activado para poder verla