Cal State Long Beach was ranked eighth among the Peace Corps’ highest ranking Hispanic-Serving Institutions to produce volunteers in the Peace Corps’ in an online announcement on April 13.
There are 12 CSULB alumni currently serving in the organization, and since the Peace Corps’ establishment in 1961 the university has produced 793 graduates that have gone on to volunteer for the group.
“Service in the Peace Corps is such an enriching opportunity,” said President Jane Close Conoley. “I am proud of our many Beach alumni who are committed to bettering the lives of others and making a difference in the world.”
This is third consecutive year that CSULB has been ranked as one of the Peace Corps’ top volunteer-producing HSIs.
To qualify as an HSI at least 25 percent of a higher education institution’s full-time students must be Hispanic.
Out of the 13 ranked universities, 10 were in California, with the top spot going to both University of California, Santa Cruz and San Diego State University, each with 32 volunteers currently serving.
The 10 top-ranking HSIs in California produced 154 volunteers this year, and in total, more than 29,899 California residents have volunteered for the Peace Corps since its founding, with 915 California residents currently serving for the organization overseas.
“Graduates of Hispanic-Serving Institutions come to Peace Corps with a strong educational background and the flexibility and curiosity needed to make an impact in communities around the world,” Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “Volunteers with different talents, viewpoints, experiences and backgrounds demonstrate to people across all corners of the world what it means to be an American.”
The Peace Corps is one of the most, if not the most prolific United States’ organization dedicated to international volunteer services. They work at the grassroots level toward sustainable change in the lives and communities in the areas they visit.
Volunteers are given the rewarding opportunity of becoming more global citizens, and to help others around the world as well as the planet itself.
“I want to do the Peace Corps because it gives me an opportunity to see the real world outside of Global North Society, to help people and with the added benefit of a forgiving of student loans,” said junior English and Political Science major Matthew Burditt. “The work is valuable because it imparts lessons to volunteers showing that life is quite hard outside of wealthy societies, and it allows individuals to make a positive difference by teaching English or helping with logistic infrastructure in less developed countries.”
Their mission is to promote world peace and friendship by helping countries meet their need for trained individuals as well as install a better understanding of Americans in the communities served, and a better understanding of other cultures in their American volunteers.
Natalie Smerkanich is the Peace Corps recruiter in charge of the Long Beach area. Her email, office address and phone number is available on the Peace Corps website.