By Katherine Macek
For the CVPost
When the Peace Corps released its 2014 top volunteer-producing colleges this year, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire made the 24 spot in medium-sized schools, making the list for the first time ever.
Janice McInerary, a Twin Cities-based Peace Corps recruiter, is the adviser for UW-Eau Claire students who are interested in joining the Peace Corps after graduating. She said that while the total number of volunteers going into the Peace Corps has dropped in the past few years, the number of UW-Eau Claire graduates going into the program has increased relative to other schools.
“It’s so exciting,” McInerary said. “I love when I come to campus and people are interested and excited, and they’re learning about it. With more and more graduates going to volunteer, more and more students hear about it.”
Aside from UW-Madison, which ranked No. 2 in large-size schools for 2014 and has attained the No. 1 spot in the past, in the five years she has worked as a recruiter, she doesn’t recall another UW System school making the top lists, McInerary said.
UW-Eau Claire tied with eight other schools for the 24th spot, but McInerary said that doesn’t make the title any less significant.
“They are tied with some pretty impressive schools, to be honest,” she said. “Kudos to Eau Claire.”
Since the Peace Corps’ beginning in 1961, McInerary said a total of 347 volunteers have been UW-Eau Claire graduates. Of similarly sized UW schools, that ranks second only to UW-Stevens Point, which has had 425 volunteers.
The Peace Corps is a government program in which volunteers are placed in other countries to provide assistance for at least two years. Part of their mission during this time is to promote friendship by helping others understand American culture and by themselves developing a better understanding of the cultures they serve.
The Peace Corps is a good opportunity for people of all ages, but the reasons people volunteer can vary, McInerary said.
Some of those reasons include career advancement, making a difference, traveling abroad and understanding a different culture. But, McInerary said, whatever the reason, she hopes every volunteer comes home with a new outlook on life.
“I hope they take away from it what they want to get out of it,” she said. “I really just hope somebody comes out of the Peace Corps knowing they got something of value. And honestly, I don’t know a single person who doesn’t.”
Donna Lehmkuhl is program manager of the Early Childhood Literacy Intervention Program, Services and Evaluation (ECLIPSE) at UW-Eau Claire. ECLIPSE is an AmeriCorps program whose members work with children ages three to five from underprivileged families in various schools in the local community.
While not directly related to the Peace Corps, Lehmkuhl said several members of her program have become Peace Corps volunteers in the past, and others are considering doing so in the near future.
In some ways, Lehmkuhl said, ECLIPSE gives them a starting point for the Peace Corps.
“Coming into ECLIPSE and serving the populations that we serve – the low-income disadvantaged people – I think that helps them determine if that’s a population they want to serve,” she said.
Lehmkuhl encourages not only her students but all who are interested to serve in the Peace Corps because it’s a great way for volunteers to learn not only about another country but themselves as well.
“I think it makes us better human beings, plain and simple,” she said. “I think when we can grow and understand other cultures, it brings a piece of humanity back to our country, too.”
Colleen Marchwick, study abroad coordinator in UW-Eau Claire’s Center for International Education, is served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from 1993 to 1995.
Marchwick said the term “volunteer” can be a bit misleading because she never felt like a volunteer during her service. Peace Corps volunteers are trained and work in jobs for the same pay people in their host countries make in those jobs.
“It is good to kind of look at it as an entry-level international job,” Marchwick said. “There are very few places where you’ll be able to get that kind of responsibility so early in your career.”
Marchwick, who was a recruiter for two years after returning from the Peace Corps, now stays involved by sharing her story with UW-Eau Claire students interested in the Peace Corps.
While it can be challenging to live in another country, especially if there’s a language barrier, Marchwick said, it’s definitely a worthwhile experience. It’s an experience she would recommend it to anyone interested in serving others and learning about a new culture.
“It can open a lot of doors,” she said. “And it’s hard to know when you actually apply what they might be.”
Katherine Macek is rising senior at UW-Eau Claire who is majoring in journalism.