When the acceptance letter came in last November, fourth-year College student Luis Maes was finished with his job search. The employer offered zero wage in the Dominican Republic, the second poorest country in the Caribbean, where woodfuel remains the largest source of domestic energy and the annual per capita income hovers around $1,320. An Economics major, Maes naturally accepted.
"I have the opportunity to work for two years on the most beautiful island in the world," said Maes, who is one of the exceptionally large number of University students who has enlisted in the Peace Corps.
Maes said he will work in the Dominican Republic to strengthen local banks and technical assistance to small businesses. Through Peace Corps, he will use his University background in economics to promote basic business practices among Dominican youth through educational workshops and programs.
Last week, while the U.S. Labor Department indicated that the job market had reached a 30-year high of 96 percent, as well as a stronger-than-expected rise in average hourly earnings by 4 percent, the Peace Corps reported that it had made sizable gains in college recruitment.
The University - which traditionally has produced the highest number of volunteers in the southeastern region - is among the top centers for recruitment nationwide this year.According to the Peace Corps' 2000 list of "Top Peace Corps Universities," Virginia leapt from the 20th position to land sixth in number of recruits this year, beating out historical top performers such as the University of Washington and the University of Illinois.
With 70 graduates going overseas to volunteer, the University boasts an unusually large number for its total size, said Regional Peace Corps Recruiter Eileen Conoboy.
Conoboy, who has been recruiting at the University since 1998, said students here show themselves to be of "uniquely high commitment, adaptability, spirit of adventure and the willingness to serve others." She said that it is through strong University programs like Madison House and fraternal service organizations such as Alpha Phi Omega that U.Va. students have developed their taste for civic volunteerism.
"A lot of our recruits have been involved at some time in one or more of the service organizations at the University," she added. "Once people get bit by the bug, and find how rewarding it is, oftentimes they want to parlay it into being part of their careers."
Jordan Hamory, a fourth-year College student who will receive her Peace Corps assignment within the next two weeks, said the chance to challenge and improve her communications skills abroad motivated her to join the Peace Corps.
Along with providing civic benefits, conventional employers look favorably on the Peace Corps experience.
Marc McCauley, a real estate advisor for Robert Charles & Company, said someone coming out of the Peace Corps program would have "definite advantages" over the traditional applicant.
"Even graduates of U.Va. don't always yet have the credentials of someone who has demonstrated that they are capable of being dedicated, and being open-minded," said McCauley, "And I would say that, by and large, it makes sense to hire someone if he has the voucher of the most respected service organization in the world."
Conoboy said a volunteer coming out of the program has demonstrated that "he is trainable, that he's got a great attitude, and that he is able to work with people despite huge barriers."
But Conoboy cautioned that "service in the Peace Corps is incredibly gratifying, but it's not easy. A lot of people have trouble with the prospect of two years in a poorer, foreign country - still more don't understand how hard this can really be."
For this reason applicants must go through a multi-stage interview process, which attempts to evaluate not only commitment, but overall health as well.
David Mead, senior economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, said among the many benefits of beginning one's career in the Peace Corps are foreign language training, opportunities for graduate school scholarships and fellowships, and easier access to Federal jobs through non-competitive eligibility.
The increase in Peace Corps recruitment may therefore reflect cosmopolitan civic-mindedness developing concurrently with post-service employers' recognition of the program's benefits to potential hires.
Howard Smith, a technical marketing representative for Manpower Technical, said when he was in school, "the Peace Corps was something that the best hippies did - now, the Peace Corps is a lot more mainstream, and now a lot of your best people in general apply for the program."
The Peace Corps, established by former President John F. Kennedy, currently has 6,700 volunteers working overseas on fighting hunger, bringing clean water to communities, teaching children, helping start small businesses and controlling the spread of AIDS. Nationwide, more than 150,000 volunteers have joined since the program's inception in 1961.
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