The Global Development Organization held a discussion Tuesday with Peace Corps Representative William Evans regarding future volunteers for the Peace Corps program. Evans acts as the on-Grounds University Peace Corps recruiter.
Of the colleges and universities with a substantial amount of Peace Corps volunteers, the University consistently ranks among the highest volunteer-producing universities in the country. Since the ranking system was instituted by the Peace Corps in 2002, the University has been in the top two spots for number of alumni volunteers of all medium-sized colleges and universities — 5,000 to 15,000 undergraduates — eight times.
Last year, the University sent 44 undergraduate alumni to volunteer for the Peace Corps, second behind Western Washington University, who contributed 65 volunteers. In the past, the University has sent as many as 84 volunteers — in 2004, they came in at number one in the ranking.
Evans is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, having served in Jordan from 2011 to 2013. He returned from his most recent trip last December, and has since been back to Jordan to work on a project he began while serving in the Corps. He has worked at the University for close to two months.
Evans’ said he aimed to both relay his experiences in the Peace Corps and offer potential applicants details about the application process and the benefits of the service.
“Peace Corps service is as many things [you expect it to be] as you don’t expect it to be,” Evans said. “You end up doing a lot of things you don’t anticipate.”
The Peace Corps’ stated mission is threefold: assisting the people of other nations with trained men and women, enhancing the understanding of Americans by the people served and enhancing Americans’ understanding of other people.
Evans said the service helped him gain a sense of confidence in communicating and interacting with the inhabitants of Jordan and with people in general.
“The benefits [include] own personal growth, [the ability to] see the world, integrate into a community and have the support of other volunteers,” he said.
Though the Peace Corps enlists the help of volunteers of a wide range of ages — 8 percent of the volunteers are older than 50 — the average age is 29. Ninety-two percent of volunteers join the service organization with a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university.
Evans said the high proportion of Peace Corps volunteers that the University produces each year is a sign of the willingness of students at the University to engage in community and international service both during their time on Grounds and beyond.
“I think it’s part of the culture at U.Va.,” Evans said. “Public service is a core value here.”
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