BC named a top volunteering university

By Andres Navas

For the Heights

In 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy made a speech to the students of the University of Michigan, challenging them to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. The inspiration of his speech led to the creation of the Peace Corps, an agency of the federal government dedicated to helping developing countries find solutions to their most serious problems. Since Kennedy's speech, more than 182,000 volunteers have served in over 138 different nations, helping the people of other countries meet their needs, promoting a better understanding of Americans, and helping Americans better understand people of other countries.

The thought of traveling to some remote village in Ghana and helping the native population develop new fishing techniques or educating the people of Senegal about HIV/AIDS awareness commonly draws students to join the Peace Corps. In recent years, more and more Boston College students have taken the initiative to dedicate two years of their lives to volunteer service by joining the Peace Corps. In fact, the Peace Corps has just announced that BC ranks 11th among medium-sized schools for producing Peace Corps volunteers, with 36 alumni currently volunteering.

George Rutherford, Peace Corps recruiter for New England, believes BC's high ranking in producing Peace Corps volunteers is a testament to the type of students that go to BC and to the ideals on which the school is founded.

"At BC, there are a lot of students dedicated to service because of study abroad experiences or other service trips to other countries. BC fosters an environment of community awareness and altruism, which is reflected in the saying 'men and women for others,'" said Rutherford.

Associate director of the Boston College Career Center, Marie Geary, also said that BC students' disposition to community service as a reason for so many volunteers. "Most of the students I see inquiring about joining the Peace Corp have done PULSE, or some other community service program, and have gone abroad, perhaps to a country with great needs."

Rutherford, who served in the Democratic Republic of Congo, believes the single most important thing Peace Corps volunteers gain by serving in other countries is confidence.

"Volunteering in another country gives you an incredible sense of confidence, just because you are going into another country with a whole different culture, and you are on your own and you have to overcome these incredible challenges. You just have to make things happen on your own."

He thinks volunteering will help in the development of skills that will be useful in whatever career a student chooses to pursue in the future. "The stereotype of Peace Corps volunteers is hippies teaching English and digging wells. Today, the scope of what we do is so much broader than that. For example, we are now actively looking for IT people and business people to help developing countries improve their economies. Peace Corps programs evolve as the needs of developing countries change."

Central to the ideals of the Peace Corps is that volunteers do not go into other countries with the purpose of telling the inhabitants what they need to do. The Peace Corps makes a point of listening to what the inhabitants need help with and working with them to find a solution. Geary believes this aspect of the Peace Corps is what makes it so successful.

"They are empowering the people, and giving power to people who probably never felt power before - that's what separates the Peace Corps from other programs," he said.

For anyone who is interested learning more about the Peace Corp, Rutherford said to look at the Peace Corps Web site www.peacecorps.gov. He can also be contacted at grutherford@peacecorps.gov with further questions or by calling 1-800-424-8580 option 1, 1.