Among Ohio's 13 public universities, Ohio University ranks second in number of Peace Corps volunteers, an amount that new OU Peace Corps Representative Josh O'Donnell would like to increase by more than half this year.
Currently 41 OU graduates volunteer, said Scot Roskelly, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps regional office in Chicago, behind only Ohio State University. This compares with 54 volunteers from OSU, 35 from Miami, 13 from Kent State University and 11 from Bowling Green State University, he said.
We're quite high in the number of volunteers we have
O'Donnell said. We would like to recruit 25 volunteers from Ohio (University) this year.
This year O'Donnell will visit classes and career fairs and give monthly information sessions, he said.
After two years of service and three months of training, volunteers receive a $6,075 readjustment allowance to ease the transition back to the U.S., O'Donnell said. Use of the allowance is up to volunteers, he said. Peace Corps does not take responsibility for repaying student loans, but it defers all government-issued student loans so volunteers do not incur interest during their service, O'Donnell said.
Many fellowships and scholarships are available for returned volunteers, and all participants have a one-year non-competitive status for all government jobs, giving them priority over other applicants, O'Donnell said.
Nathan Olah, a first-year grad student and past Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa, received a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study at OU, Olah said. The fellowships covers full tuition and a yearly $14,000 stipend, he said.
I couldn't have gotten that without some language experience in Africa Olah said.
Most OU participants volunteer after receiving an undergraduate degree and continue to graduate school after service, O'Donnell said. That is a natural progression for students at any university, he said.
AmeriCorps, or the domestic Peace Corps is a Peace Corps alternative for volunteers hesitant to dedicate two years [to service], said Nancy Schell, program director of OU's ComCorps program, an AmeriCorps project.
Full-time AmeriCorps participants, dedicating 1,700 hours of service in one year, receive an annual $10,099 living stipend, Schell said. After completion of service, volunteers receive a $4,725 education award toward student loans or tuition expenses, she said.
O'Donnell, a second-year graduate student in International Development Studies, was a Peace Corps volunteer from 2001-03 in the Republic of Georgia, replacing last year's representative, June Ginther, who left after completing her degree, he said.
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