IU ranks 14th in number of Peace Corps volunteers

It was 2001 and Rachel Price was thousands of miles away from home. \nShe was living in a new place -- a rural village on the Pacific coast of Panama -- helping teach environmental science to grade-school children while working to conserve sea turtles. She was with new people and engaging in new experiences. \nAnd she says it was all worth it. \nA graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Price was working with the Peace Corps, an organization that sends American volunteers around the world to work in developing countries. \n"I think it was amazing to live and be a part of a different culture and to be able to share my culture with them. That was probably the best part about it -- just the cultural exchange," she said. \nA report recently released by the organization shows IUB ranks 14th of large schools in terms of Peace Corps volunteers, with more than 56 alumni currently serving abroad. Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1960, 1,341 IU alumni have served in the organization. \nScot Roskelley, a spokesman for the Peace Corps' regional office in Chicago, said there are a number of explanations for the recent ranking, including a search for adventure on the part of participants and a larger desire to engage in altruism. \n"Once the family members have gone to serve in the Peace Corps, they talk it up the rest of their lives," Roskelley said. "It's a pretty substantial experience in a person's life. You're going to grow personally ... It's going to alter your perceptions of yourself and what you're capable of doing."\nThe University of Wisconsin-Madison leads the list with 104 alumni currently serving. Among Big Ten schools, IU is also behind the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota and Penn State University in the number of volunteers. \nBut Jeremy Rothgerber, a SPEA graduate student and IU's campus representative for the Peace Corps, said the number of students nominated for service has steadily increased since 2003, when a recruitment office was first started on campus. Participation went from 23 in the first year to 46 in the 2004-2005 school year. Some nominated candidates do not go into service, however, because of medical or other reasons. \nRothgerber said some of the increases can be attributed to the office itself, while others might be a result of a heightened awareness of the organization and its mission. \n"I think just general knowledge of students about the Peace Corps has increased," he said. \nPeace Corps service is a two-year commitment and volunteers can serve in a variety of fields such as education, business consulting, environmental science, agriculture or health education. One out of three applicants is chosen for service, and the organization pays the living and health care costs, as well as travel expenses, of volunteers, Roskelley said. \nFormer volunteer and graduate student Jamie Ward, who also works for the Indiana Daily Student, referred to joining the Peace Corps as "the great American experience." \n"They're sending you off to the parts of the world where Americans normally don't go," he said. \nAs part of his service, Ward worked in Belize in Central America, where he started a computer lab for disadvantaged high school youth and helped locals understand the new technology.\nRothgerber, who worked with farmers in the West African country of Gambia in 1995 as a volunteer and later as an associate Peace Corps director for agro-forestry, said service gives volunteers the chance to earn a global perspective, one that also helps other countries gain a better understanding of American life.\n"I'm very passionate about the Peace Corps because I think they do development the right away, providing knowledge and resources to people at a grassroots level," he said. "It's not about money or large projects; it's about teaching people skills and giving them access to knowledge so once you're gone, they can continue to improve their quality of life"