There is often an awkward transition period after a student graduates from college.
Students often return to live in their parents’ house and fill out endless applications. Two programs that offer students an alternative are Peace Corp and AmeriCorps. Both programs require students to give at least a year of their lives to a cause, in exchange for the promise of adventure, culture and self-discovery. Both Peace Corps and AmeriCorps defer student loans when members are still serving their assignments.
The Peace Corps is a two-year volunteer program, designed for those with a college degree, in which former students serve on behalf of the U.S. on international soil.
Kristen Travis, who graduated from Eastern Michigan University, and a former Life Editor at the Eastern Echo, served in the Peace Corp sOct. 2004-2006 in Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific.
Selection into the Peace Corps is approximately an eight-month to a one-year process. Couples can serve together, but it could take longer than a year for the couple to get their assignment.
The application process consists of interviews, a background check, personal essays, at least three written references and documentation from a dentist, physician and therapist/counselor. Then, the Peace Corps matches the individual with an assignment most suited to the person’s skills and preference. Transition funds are awarded after successful completion of the program.
Travis majored in journalism and minored in French. Two of Vanuatu’s official languages are English and French, and in 2004, half of Vanuatu’s citizens couldn’t speak with the other half.
Travis taught English to French-speaking high school students at a boarding school. She received two months of intense training, learning the language and the culture at a home-stay, before the Peace Corps let her out on her own.
During her two-year stay, Travis faced cultural adversity that tested her values and gave her insight into human culture. One memorable conversation she had with her students was when she explained her boyfriend never beats her and she would leave him if he did.
“They were like, really?” Travis said. “It’s a developing country, and the attitude there is that a woman is less than a man. I would spend a lot of time talking to my students about the consequences of starting a family early. A smaller family would make life easier for women, who would have more time achieving their own goals, and then the status of women would gradually improve in Vanuatu.”
Travis, who now works as an academic advisor at Wayne State University, returned from the Peace Corps to EMU, where she received her graduate degree in Higher Education. She warns the Peace Corps is not a vacation. Applicants must have purpose in mind, and many people apply just to escape.
“It took me a long time to gain respect,” Travis said. “They didn’t know how to take me because I’m blonde, petite, outspoken and highly educated. If I were a guy, I would have been heard the first time, but I am a girl, and I had to fight to get my voice heard. It taught me that if there is anything worth saying, it can be said again.”
Another alternative to Peace Corps is AmeriCorps, in which people serve in the U.S. for one year, helping in the fight against poverty and the effects of natural disaster. There is less of a culture shock compared to Peace Corps, and members receive a living allowance, which is 110% of the poverty rate.
Members are awarded the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, which can be used to go to school or repay student loans. The amount is tied to the maximum amount of the U.S. Department of Education’s Pell Grant, which is currently $5350.
Jasmina Camo served as a member of AmeriCorps Vista in August 2006, where she worked to build the capacity of youth programs at EMU.
She was treated as another member of the administrative VISION staff, where she trained tutors and reached out to local non-profit organizations in a full time job. She is back at EMU as the program director of VISION.
The application process timeline of AmeriCorps is on average shorter than the Peace Corps’. Camo, who sent out multiple applications, finished all of them in May.
She was then interviewed in June, and in July she met with the institution with which she would be spending a year. In early August, she went to her regional training center and in late August started her assignment.
Camo, who majored in English, decided to choose AmeriCorps Vista because she wanted to get experience working at a non-profit organization before attending graduate school. She went to high school in Hamtramck, Mich.
“I wanted to develop contacts in the community I would be staying,” Camo said. “I love Southeast Michigan and this is where I want to be. It felt more personal to work in my community.”
One of her struggles was learning to budget her money while living as a member of AmeriCorps.
She worked with the government to get her loans in forbearance and pay for living expenses such as food and car. She has recently finished paying off her expenses from getting into a car accident while serving in AmeriCorps.
“It was really helpful for EMU to offer me campus housing at reduced rates,” Camo said. “I was in a lot better position than a lot of my peers. You really have to set out and realize that cable might be a luxury. It’s a humbling experience.”
