ALUMNI
SERVICE TO THE CORE
And this high standing isn't a recent phenomenon. Historically, UC Davis has always ranked above most other universities around the state and country, and in 1998 ranked sixth nationally, with 64 volunteers, slightly higher than Berkeley and Santa Barbara, the other UC campuses that were in the top 25. Since its creation in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps has enlisted almost 1,100 volunteers from UC Davis, placing it in the 18th spot on the corps' all-time national list. UC Davis alumni participation has been high for a number of reasons, said Heidi Thoren, a public affairs specialist at the organization's San Francisco office. Though liberal arts majors generally make up the core of Peace Corps volunteers, she said the organization continually looks for graduates with strong technical and scientific backgrounds, which is what UC Davis has to offer. "UC Davis graduates seem to be very internationally aware and interested in global issues," Thoren said. "They tend to study and pursue fields that are particularly suited to the Peace Corps, such as agriculture and animal science." UC Davis alumnus and former Peace Corps volunteer John Clausen is now a recruiter who visits students in Northern California, Hawaii and Nevada. He believes that extensive recruiting efforts on campus also have helped boost enlistment numbers. "We have a representative on campus all the time," he said. "We're constantly handing out information, having meetings regularly and going into classes." Alumna Sarah Schroer, M.S. '96, a former Peace Corps volunteer, said she believes that, though UC Davis is recognized as a strong science school (she received a master's degree in physiology), the West Coast's culture of community service may also influence students' decisions about getting involved. "Being from the East Coast, I would say that it's a California thing to do--being interested in helping people." Schroer, who returned from Ecuador last May, is now a first-year student at UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine studying large-animal medicine--a decision influenced by her Peace Corps service as an animal production volunteer. "The work I was doing really influenced my goals for practicing veterinary medicine," she said. "Otherwise I don't think it would have occurred to me to even think about practicing large-animal medicine." The Peace Corps currently has 7,000 volunteers serving in 78 countries. For more information, visit its Web site at www.peacecorps.gov or call the organization's toll-free number, (800) 424-8580. |
"How far are you willing to go to make a difference?" reads the Peace Corps brochure. UC Davis alumni are apparently willing to go a long way to make a difference. In the recently released "2000 List of Colleges and Universities with Graduates Currently Serving as Peace Corps Volunteers," the campus ranked 11th among all large schools around the country, with 60 alums currently volunteering worldwide.