Not just the Peace Corps: Post-grad opportunities abound

By Thomas Gounley

Published: Friday, January 23, 2009

Updated: Sunday, September 6, 2009

When most people think of volunteering after graduation, they think of the Peace Corps. It's understandable given the program's reputation and longevity as well as its presence on the UNH campus. In January 2008, UNH was ranked in the top 25 on a list of medium-sized colleges that produced the most Peace Corps volunteers. However, there are other programs that also accept volunteers, offering opportunities for graduates from all academic backgrounds.

The Peace Corps program requires a 27-month commitment. The program sends volunteers throughout the world where they work in a variety of fields such as education and youth community development, agriculture, business development and the environment. Volunteers receive paid transportation to and from their areas of service, a monthly living allowance, medical and dental coverage, possible student loan deferment, 24 vacation days per year and a $6,075 allowance after completion of the program.

An alternative to this is Americorps, a program similar to the Peace Corps but with a domestic focus. Two components of the program open to college graduates are AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

"AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty," according to the AmeriCorps website.

AmeriCorps VISTA members volunteer at nonprofit organizations or government agencies and work on such initiatives as improving health services, fighting illiteracy and strengthening community groups. The program is a 12-month commitment.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a more vigorous, team-based program. The work done is similar to the VISTA program, but the setting is different. The program requires a 10-month commitment during which members live together at one of four regional campuses across the country and work on service projects throughout the region.

Another program that accepts volunteers is City Year. A description on their website read, "City Year corps members serve full-time at one of 17 locations across the United States as tutors and mentors, running after-school programs, and leading youth leadership programs." The program requires a 10-month commitment.

Participants in either of the AmeriCorps program or City Year receive the same benefits, which include a weekly stipend, student loan deferment while serving, health insurance and childcare coverage, and either a $4,725 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, which can be used to pay for school or student loans, or $1,200 in cash.

Those involved with the programs note the benefits exceed mere stipends and loan deferment.

Joanna Shea O'Brien, a Peace Corps public affairs specialist said, "The benefits of service are many. Volunteers get real world experience while some of their fellow graduates might be working in entry level nine to five positions. Peace Corps is a life-changing experience for many people, and it gives them a better sense of what kind of graduate school options they want to pursue as well as career options."

The current economy may make these programs more competitive than ever, as graduates face an unstable market with decreased job opportunities and look to both bolster their resumes and delay their entries into the workforce.

"Peace Corps has been affected by the economy as well," said O'Brien. "Becoming a Peace Corps volunteer has always been a competitive process, but in a time of increasing applications and rising costs, it's more competitive than ever."

Matt Wadlinger, a graduate student in justice studies, is one student hoping to volunteer after he graduates with his M.A. in justice studies in May 2009.

He attributed his desire to join the Peace Corps to several people he knows who are or were in the program, his desire to see the world and the enjoyment he currently gets from working with for a non-profit organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Seacoast in Portsmouth.

"I'm hoping that I will be able to make a difference in the lives of people who may not be as lucky and privileged as I am," he said.

When considering which program to volunteer for, each student needs to carefully weigh the various options and decide what is best for them, according to Ed Dalton, the Peace Cops representative for the UNH campus.

"I think it is something that has to fit into what they want to do and the way they want to do it," said Dalton

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Scavengers steal Scan TV sign Saturday

If you read on their facebook page for the stolen sign they accuse them of taking it. I just think that the blame game has gone too far on this campus and people see fraternities as a good scape goat. Yes some do some shady stuff, but at the same time one cannot instantly blame them. "They think it was maybe a fraternity stunt or scavenger hunt of some kind." - taken directly from their facebook page. I do hope that your sign does get returned because I understand how iconic it is for the university and the MUB.

posted by: UNHAlum
Faculty members need a wake-up call

It is time the faculity sucked it up like the rest of us on campus. This year staff over $40,000 received no raise, faculity received 5.5%. Take the 1.5% and be happy.
Do You remember why you became a professor? I hope, to pass your knowledge on to the next generation.
Some of you look like greedy individuals who can only think of the God almighty dollar and not the students you teach and mentor. If we keep increasing out tuition to pay for salaries students will look at other schools and then where will you be, on the street.

posted by: Robert Pettigrew
Faculty members need a wake-up call

I don't think it's fair to compare UNH to UMass (Amherst, I assume) and UConn. Both those schools are considerably larger than UNH — 26,000 and 20,000 undergrads, respectively — while the other schools mentioned are closer to UNH's size, give or take 3,000 students. Massachusetts and Connecticut are also feeling the effects of the recession slightly more than NH is. I realize that UNH commonly uses those schools as comparators, but those two are just on a different level than our school.
There are two other things I'm going to look up before I decide how I feel about this.
First, how does the average UNH professor's salary compare to to other universities? It's probably in line with other schools, but if it's significantly lower, shouldn't UNH profs get that too?
As some have said, if the pay is lower here, professors can quit and go to other schools — if they can find an open position somewhere else. But, if a professor leaves, the school will be left in the position of trying to attract a new teacher with lower-than-average salaries. Enact the raises and UNH remains competitive in keeping and hiring the best professors.
Second, what percentage of UNH's budget goes toward paying the professors? Again, this could be that the professors are asking the university to dedicate an equal amount to paying educators at UNH as they are paid at other schools. If UNH only dedicates 15% of the budget to prof pay and the other schools all dedicate 20%, why shouldn't that be changed? Not to sound Beck-ian, but I don't know and that's something that should be looked at.
Neither of those questions deal with the larger problem of education funding from the state, which I think was something like 2 percent (and that's for all schools, not just colleges). California students staged huge protests yesterday because fee hikes raised they amount they pay per year for school to around $11,000. Meanwhile, that's close to what UNH students have been paying for tuition alone for years, and it continues to rise. If Governor Lynch and our state reps don't start working to increase education funding in the state, all the groups involved, students, professors and administration, need to start showing the kind of outrage that California showed yesterday.

posted by: Clark Kent
Faculty members need a wake-up call

The whiny, lazy, faculty all need to get fired. I haven't seen a more wanna-be-entitled bunch anywhere I have worked. They don't deserve any raises, but instead a pay cut. The rest of the staff had a mandatory salary freeze that will last probably 2 years at least. Faculty also get the bonus of cheaper benefits than the rest of the staff. To top it off they are whiners and complainers about anything not in their contract or if they feel the least bit slighted by the administration. They got out of taking mandatory sexual-harrassment training that everyone else on staff had to take, since somehow their union filed a grievance with the administration that it wasn't required in their contract. The entire training was online and took less than an hour but that's too much for those slackers.
Tenure indeed is the only thing that keeps many of them employed, and it's a concept that needs to get thrown out. Many of them are dead wood, not bringing new ideas to the table and too 'busy' to try anything new, despite having many grad assistants and others to do all their real work, and the most over the top support structure of any organization I have seen.
Yet their greed continues unchecked! Ugh!
Good riddance!

posted by: Your name
Faculty members need a wake-up call

How quickly things change.
Just last week, when editorializing about a group of campus perverts, the attitude of the editors was: "we also don’t think it’s any of our business to judge an organization just because their activities are a shock to our system." Seven days ago we were advised to "shackle our judgment" and told that the campus S&M crowd "deserves respect." Now, a mere week later, when the same editorial board concludes that the UNH faculty union's collective bargaining position is "shocking," what do the editors do? Take their own advice and "shackle their judgment?" Offer respect to the faculty? Conclude that the negotiations are none of their business?
No, none of these. Instead, the hypocritical editors tell "whining" and "greedy" faculty they are lucky to have a job, and should be satisfied with whatever the administration considers to be a fair offer -- because, presumably, the administration ALWAYS tells the truth about university finances, and ALWAYS treats the employees of the university fairly.
Why not spend some effort actually learning the facts regarding the financial situation of the university -- revenues from the state, tuition increases, higher enrollments, grant money? Why not report on the value of the faculty and the university as an economic engine for the state? Why not investigate both the enormous increase in administrative salaries and the bloated growth in new administrative positions over the last two decades? Why not write about the relative compensation of your faculty compared to those with similar education, training, and experience in other fields? I guess these tasks were too challenging. It's just easier to call faculty names.
Everybody loves free-market capitalism as long as the managers and administrators get to call the shots and the workers remain docile and content with whatever the bosses decide they deserve. But, when workers assert their rights and engage in labor negotiations as equals -- well, that is just unacceptable to our enlightened editorial masters. You're all doing a great job of learning how to be corporate lap dog journalists.
Oh, and you spelled "principal" incorrectly.

posted by: Prof. "Greedy," Ph.D.

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Not just the Peace Corps: Post-grad opportunities abound

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