It’s been 40 years, but faculty member Georgeanne Cooper still remembers the
day former president John F. Kennedy announced the creation of a new
international service program called the Peace Corps. Although she was just
16, Cooper knew that one day she wanted to join.
“As soon as I heard about that I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” said
Cooper, the coordinator for the Academic Learning Services Teaching
Effectiveness Program.
Upon graduating from college in 1968, she did exactly that, and in doing so,
she joined the ranks of the more than 161,000 Americans who have served in the
Peace Corps since it began on March 1, 1961.
As the group celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, Peace Corps campus
supporters have something to celebrate as well: The number of volunteers from
the University has increased significantly during the past year.
According to a list released March 9 by Peace Corps Acting Director Charles
Baquet III, the University now ranks fifth in the nation among large
universities for the number of graduates in the Peace Corps, with 67 members
currently serving.
The University made the largest leap in the rankings, moving up from 15th
place last year with 56 graduates serving.
Career Center Director Larry Smith said the University’s high ranking reflects
an internationally aware campus and student body.
“The long-standing, high involvement of University of Oregon graduates in the
Peace Corps represents the outstanding qualities that the University
develops,” Smith said.
With 7,300 people serving in the Peace Corps, volunteer involvement is the
highest it’s been in 26 years, Peace Corps spokesman Jim Aguirre said. Through
intensified recruitment efforts on college campuses, Peace Corps officials
hope to increase that number by 25 percent this year.
“We have more requests for volunteers than can be filled,” Aguirre said.
“This year, we’re doing a bigger push all around to get more people involved.”
With more volunteers, Aguirre said, the Peace Corps can make more progress
toward goals that include fighting hunger, stopping the spread of AIDS,
bringing clean water to communities, starting new businesses, and educating
children.
The demand is particularly great for English teachers, Aguirre said. To teach
English in the Peace Corps doesn’t require any special certification – all
that’s needed is a college degree and a basic knowledge of the English
language.
For students who choose to go into the Corps after graduation, the rewards can
be great, said Skye Mendenhall, the Peace Corps representative at the
University.
Mendenhall, a former Peace Corps volunteer, said the two-year term provides an
opportunity for graduates to try out what they want to do before committing to
a specific career path.
“It’s a great stepping-stone in getting more real-world experience,”
Mendenhall said.
Cooper knows firsthand what “real-world experience” in a developing country is
like. As a teacher in the West African country of Liberia, she not only had to
deal with obstacles in her work such as crowded classrooms, a lack of
supplies, and inadequate technology, she also nearly lost her life after
falling ill with malaria.
Despite all the hardships, the contributions she was able to make and the
friendships she formed made it all worthwhile, Cooper said.
Her work in the Peace Corps made a difference in the lives of the people she
was trying to help, but it also left a lasting impact on her own life. Cooper
said she left Liberia with a new perspective on the world.
“Having your eyes opened like that is incredible,” Cooper said. “It was a
life-changing experience.”
Students who are interested in becoming volunteers should call Mendenhall at
346-6026.