Corps director visits city

When she's out of the office, you can often find her organizing volunteer missions to Thailand, Russia, or Eastern Europe. But at 9 a.m. yesterday, Peace Corps Director Carol Bellamy was a little closer to home, stepping off a train at 30th Street Station. Bellamy, who was appointed to the position by President Clinton, was in Philadelphia in an effort to recruit new Peace Corps volunteers, and visit a program for returned Peace Corps volunteers. And under Bellamy's leadership, the number of people in the two-year volunteer program has expanded by about 500. "It's still tough, we don't just take anybody," Bellamy said. "But there are more slots available, and we're looking for everything from the liberal arts graduate to the Wharton MBA." Bellamy said that people wanting to volunteer for the Peace Corps must fill out an application and take a medical exam. "You've got to be in at least okay shape to volunteer in the Peace Corps," she said. "The Peace Corps is not Club Med." Bellamy stressed that in addition to a service opportunity, the Peace Corps offers experience, and looks attractive to employers. "For example, a Wharton MBA would be great in one of our programs in Central or Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union," she said. "[Somewhere] where we have volunteers working with budding entrepreneurs [who are] trying to convert state run economies?into free-market economies. "We're always looking for teachers," she said. Bellamy added that the Peace Corps, a U.S. government agency, receives $231 million a year in federal funding. And she wants University students to know that the Peace Corps experience is not merely "the recent college graduate digging latrines out in the middle of the jungle, next to mud huts," although she said that there are positions like this available for those who are interested. "We also have volunteers working in urban areas," she said. "Though not fancy urban areas, all of the volunteers live at the level of the community in which they are working." And while the individual experiences of Peace Corps volunteers may vary, the director said that all volunteers get something in common out of it. "You can really help people," she added, "I think it enhances people's careers." The Peace Corps will also pay for 10 weeks' language and cultural training, in addition to the two-year volunteer program. All living and medical expenses are paid by the Peace Corps, and though the volunteer does not get a salary, "they do get a lump sum of $5,400 at the end of service," Bellamy said. And while the volunteer is in the program, his loans are deferred and incur no interest during the two years. Bellamy said the typical volunteer "becomes a problem solver and a project manager, and you do it all in a different cultural environment, which is what employers all over the world are looking for?and it's also fun. "The University of Pennsylvania is the number two producer [of Peace Corps volunteers] in the state of Pennsylvania," she added.