Peace Corps attracts grads

Volunteer and service groups have become an integral part of life at Boston College. This year, BC ranks ninth among the Peace Corps top volunteer-producing colleges. It has moved up four spots from last year's place and had a total of 43 alumni volunteers in its 2004 graduating class. This is a true reflection of the spirit of service at BC.

In the past decade, the University of Wisconsin at Madison has been the highest producer of volunteers in the arena of large colleges, and it still maintains its spot this year. BC is in the arena of medium schools, where the University of Virginia stands at the top of the rankings. Schools are ranked according to the size of the student body. Small schools are characterized by enrollment of 5,000 undergraduates or less, medium schools average between 5,001 to 15,000 undergraduates, and large schools are considered to be those with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

"I think that Boston College's top 10 ranking is one of many indicators of the University's commitment to creating men and women for others," said Joe Halli, a council member of 4Boston and A&S '05.

Halli said BC's extensive array of service groups introduced students to the harsh inequalities of society.

"I think that service groups on campus, like 4Boston, PULSE, Appalachia, Urban Immersion, and the Pedro Arrupe program expose students to the inequalities of society and place students in the position to serve the marginalized community," he said.

Daniel Ponsetto, director of the Volunteer Service Learning Center (VSLC) cited interest in post-graduate volunteering as a main factor for the high ranking.

"I believe that BC's move up in the ranks, in my experience, is because interest among our seniors in post-graduate volunteering has increased and more and more students are looking for more opportunities to join in," Ponsetto said.

The VSLC's goal this year is to encourage the spirit of justice and service among students even after they graduate, said Ponsetto. "I wish that more graduates would consider time after graduation to dedicate some time to service as a way to discern what they want to do with their life," he said.

Michael Malec, director of the Nicaraguan Service Immersion trips was not surprised by BC's ranking.

"I had no idea we were so highly rated, but based on my experience leading service trips with the help of some truly wonderful student-leaders, I am not at all surprised," he said. "BC students really do live up to the Jesuit ideal of 'men and women for others.'"

Classes like PULSE and extracurricular activities do more then fill a student's resume, according to Dan Leahy, director of 4Boston.

"The kids that I have the pleasure of working with end up believing the stuff that we teach them about enrichment through helping others, and that is what draws them to post-graduate volunteer programs like the Peace Corps," he said.

He also believes that the students that join these service opportunities are not only learning to serve their fellowman but they are also learning why they need to serve them.

"They learn to ask themselves questions such as why are these people hungry, or wonder why these people need their help. It makes them raise questions of justice," Leahy said.

Most of the volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps over the 43 years since it started have been college graduates. Currently, 97 percent of volunteers have at least an undergraduate degree with 13 percent of those also possessing a graduate level degree.

Not all Peace Corps volunteers have been college graduates though; the program has had some interest from high school graduates, as well as community college graduates.

Since its inception, the Peace Corps has had more than 178,000 volunteers working in various fields such as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture.