Peace Corps Sees Double-Digit Hike in Applications

ABC News On Campus reporter Chelsey Delaney blogs:

Applications for the Peace Corps are rising steadily as more students and recent college graduates are drawn to service, according to organization figures.

"Only 6 percent of [Peace Corps] volunteers are over 50," Shannon Borders, the Peace Corp’s Dallas spokesperson, said. "Colleges play a key role in our recruitment because joining gives young people an opportunity to gain cross-cultural experience."

Founded in 1961, the Peace Corps has sent volunteers to more than 139 countries to work in agriculture, education, health and environmental training.  It has a reported a 16 percent increase in volunteers for the current fiscal year.

Borders attributes the spike in applications to increased curiosity about other cultures and, she speculates, the unstable economic climate. The application process takes anywhere from six to 12 months.

Lindsey Mullikin graduated from the University of Texas in December and said that her motivation to apply grew out of her interest in international affairs during her student days, and from the diversity she enjoyed on UT’s campus. When Mullikin began applying a year ago, however, getting in seemed difficult. 

"I have read and heard a lot of people talk about how the Peace Corps funding has been cut significantly in the past eight years," said Mullikin, who is assigned to the Dominican Republic and maintains a blog (http://dominicanmully.wordpress.com/) about her experiences.  "I think this will change under the country’s new administration. I was really lucky to be placed in a program."

Mullikin says she has joined Facebook groups that are dedicated to raising money for the Peace Corps.

The University of Texas ranks eighth in the large-school category for the number of volunteers it produces for the Peace Corps. The school followed Washington University, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Michigan State University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, respectively.

Most volunteers work in an educational job.  Mullikin’s program includes teaching technical skills.

"I think it will deepen my compassion and humility for those around me, and increase my ability to professionally contribute to my community," Mullikin said. "I know that I am going to discover a lot about myself, both good and bad. But I am excited to learn both."