Peace Corps office opens at Tulane University
Peace Corps office opens at Tulane University
Lauren DeFrank
news co-editor
January 16, 2004-- Tulane University and the Peace Corps further strengthened their bond by opening a new office to provide students with greater access to the organization.
The Tulane Peace Corps office opened Oct. 24 and is "a resource center for applicants from all universities in New Orleans," Peace Corps recruiter Meredith McLanahan said.
The Peace Corps' Southwest Regional Recruitment Office is located in Dallas and officials determined Tulane was an important site at which to station a part-time recruiter. "Tulane University is the number one volunteer-producing university in Louisiana. Since Peace Corps is in growth mode," McLanahan said, "it seemed logical to place a part-time recruiter in New Orleans in order to keep a constant presence in the city and save
money on traveling back and forth."
Once a Peace Corps volunteer is accepted into a program in a country, he or she undergoes 12 weeks of training and serves for two years upon completing instruction. Volunteers work in a variety of fields, including business, environment, agriculture, education and technology, helping to "promote sustainable projects in the developing world," McLanahan said.
Tulane Director of Community Services Coordination Hamilton Simons-Jones describes the program as a valuable experience. "It can provide our graduates and future students with transformational life experiences that really get them experienced in the nitty gritty day-to-day work and challenges of community development, international relations, public health, etc."
Tulane Peace Corps volunteers include approximately 24 students a year, with 332 Tulane graduates joining the program since 1961.
Tulane is also home to a strong Masters Internationalist program associated with the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. This program combines classes at Tulane with two years in the Peace Corps in order to receive a Master's degree. To participate in the program, students must be accepted by both the Peace Corps and Tulane University's graduate program.
"The students complete their academic coursework here and then are assigned to Peace Corps for service which counts as their capstone," School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Associate Dean Elaine Boston said. "After the two years of service, they are awarded their degree."
The rewards of this program go beyond receiving a Master's degree, according to Boston. "I think the Masters Internationalist program offers young students who desire to complete Peace Corps service the opportunity to go out to a country with training, cultural sensitivity and other attributes to fill an unmet need for the country they have been assigned," she said.
Boston said Tulane was chosen as the site for a Peace Corps office partly because of "our tradition with Peace Corps and our outstanding MI program," she said, indicating that since the early 1990s Tulane has been the home of the largest MI program in the United States.
The Peace Corps also offers rewards for the University that will promote national attention. Every year, the organization releases a list of the top 25 schools which contribute on average 10 to 15 volunteers a year and "Peace Corps wants to make Tulane a top 25 school," McLanahan said.
Tulane's involvement with the international organization will also help to differentiate the University, according to Simons-Jones. "It can continue to distinguish us as not only a university that is committed to community, but also one that does this work on a local, regional and global level," he said.
The new office is located at the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. McLanahan also visits the Uptown Career Center twice a week to meet with students.
Those interested in the Peace Corps can pick up applications and recruitment catalogs at the office, and an information presentation and reception about the Peace Corps will be held at the Woldenberg Auditorium from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 12.
