Applications also rose to nearly 11,000, an increase of more than 10 percent, as the organization worked to expand its recruitment efforts, officials said.
Peace Corps' goal is to have 8,000 volunteers in the field by 2008 says Charles Brooks, head of the agency's recruitment efforts
Augie hosts Peace Corps
By Ann McGlynn
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Marc Strobbe grew up on a farm near Long Grove, Iowa, and went to Augustana College to study environmental management and play football.
The 1998 graduate then took his skills to Ecuador for two years for the Peace Corps. Today, he operates an organic farm with his wife near Rock Falls, Ill.
Charles Brooks attended Audubon Elementary School in Rock Island during the 1940s and Washington Junior High School for his ninth-grade year in the early 1950s. The son of a career Naval officer, Brooks devoted his life to the Navy, too.
Today, Brooks reports directly to the director of the Peace Corps. He leads the organization’s recruitment efforts.
Strobbe and Brooks are two of the people who will be participating this weekend in a Peace Corps symposium at Augustana College, Rock Island. The event is open to anyone who wants to find out more about Peace Corps, whether they are just out of high school, a community or four-year college graduate, a retiree or just simply interested in hearing more about the organization.
The event is part of the Peace Corps’ effort to “broaden the net” of potential volunteers, Brooks said.
“It’s not just a straight-out-of-college program,” he said. “We hope to open up in some markets to people who might be interested,” adding that Midwesterners have a “strong service ethic.”
The symposium, sponsored by the college’s Freistat Center for Studies in World Peace, opens Friday evening with a speech by Jerry Leach, president of the National World Affairs Council of America. Sessions on Saturday include a speech by the man who is the regional director for the Peace Corps’ efforts in Africa, as well as panels focusing on Peace Corps projects, opportunities for young adults and what it’s like to serve as an older adult.
The number of Peace Corps volunteers hit a 29-year high last year, with 7,733 volunteers in 71 countries as of November, officials said. The total was up 200 from the year before.
Ninety-seven percent of volunteers had bachelor’s degrees last year, 13 percent had a master’s degree. People age 50 and older make up 6 percent of the volunteers, with the average age at 28. Minorities account for 15 percent of volunteers.
The oldest volunteer in the field was 82 years old last year.
Applications also rose to nearly 11,000, an increase of more than 10 percent, as the organization worked to expand its recruitment efforts, officials said.
The Corps began targeting community college graduates, as well as the organizations of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutes, Retired Teachers Association and American Association of Retired Persons.
The goal is to have 8,000 volunteers in the field by 2008, said Brooks, who still has family and childhood friends in the area.
Strobbe worked with an agricultural project in Ecuador, helping people grow plants and livestock, and also to develop businesses. He lived in a room in a community center for part of his time there, then in an apartment.
A term in Latin America during college convinced him that he wanted to work internationally for a portion of his life.
“That was a real eye-opener for an Iowa farm boy,” the 1994 North Scott High School graduate said. “I was so amazed by the hospitality and the situations that a lot of the people were in.”
Strobbe would like to see more people experienced in agriculture consider service in the Peace Corps.
“I would recommend going into the Peace Corps, but warn that it is one of the toughest things you will ever do,” he said.
Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.
