Read this short excerpt from the Chicago Daily Herald about the events of September 11 and how they were a call to action to he younger generation. The excerpt we are printing here talks about the effect September 11 has had on Peace Corps recruitment.

Chicago Daily Herald


Fight for peace

But that still leaves the question about how exactly Sept. 11 has affected the younger generations.

For a while, there was the widespread belief that they'd be so affected by the terror of the attacks that they'd completely abandon the pursuit of material goods.

One anticipated result, the thinking went, would be an uptick in the number of Peace Corps applications after Sept. 11.

Turns out that's not quite right. The number of Peace Corps applicants has indeed been higher since Sept. 11, but the increase began months before the attacks.

"We had a big increase in applicants in July of this year, too," says Scot Roskelley, public affairs specialist with the Chicago regional office for the Peace Corps. "Because it began in July, it's hard to extrapolate that the increase is because of the terrorist bombings. It could also be the weakening economy."

One local applicant had several reasons for trying the Peace Corps - and none of them were related to the Sept. 11 bombings.

"I decided to join the Peace Corps because I just graduated with a master's degree in social work, and obviously right now the job market is a little slow," says 24-year-old Kelly Corley of Crystal Lake. "I figured it would give me a leg up on the competition when I get back. Plus, I love to travel and experience other cultures."

Interestingly, Corley spoke just before she was leaving to fly to India to do volunteer work - a duty she signed up for a week for before Sept. 11.


This story tells a different story from a recent story from the New York Times and another from the Washington Post on Peace Corps recruitment after September 11.

New York Times: Hard Times at Yale, Where the Peace Corps Has a Waiting List

Washington Post: In Pursuit of Idealism