On-campus recruitment season may be churning out the billionaires of tomorrow, but a sizeable number of seniors are choosing the road less traveled: the Peace Corps.
Within the Ivy League, Penn produced the second-highest number of 2006 graduates to enlist in the Peace Corps - Cornell University holds first place - according to a report released by the Peace Corps at the end of last month.
Overall, Penn was also ranked as the 12th-highest feeder among mid-sized colleges - comprised of between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates - in the U.S.
George Washington University was ranked the highest.
But even with its ranking - which dropped from eighth place in 2006 - Penn is on its way to providing an even greater pool of candidates for the Peace Corps.
In honor of the upcoming Peace Corps Week, Penn alumni who were involved in the Peace Corps will return to campus to speak about their experiences overseas and the importance of volunteering.
Peace Corps Week is a nationally celebrated program in which Peace Corps representatives spread awareness about the 46-year-old organization, which sends volunteers around the world to promote cross-cultural tolerance. It begins on Feb. 26.
This is also the first year in which a Peace Corps recruiter, Jennifer Crewalk, is working in the Office of International Programs for the sole purpose of advising Penn students interested in joining.
The large number of interested students at Penn "is the main reason I'm here," said Crewalk, who is also a student in the Graduate School of Education.
And, for some students, that interest seems particularly strong.
"I really would like to travel to an exotic country . and help people . get aid," said College junior Simon Cartoon, who said he is interested in joining the Peace Corps.
Like Cartoon, College freshman Boyan Gerasimov spoke highly of having an on-campus recruiter for the Peace Corps.
"Once I start to consider [the Peace Corps] seriously, an on-campus recruiter is something I'd try to utilize," Gerasimov said.
In addition, the Fels Institute of Government is currently working on a program that would guarantee a minimum of $6,000 in financial aid for two years to Peace Corps alumni accepted to Penn.
"A lot of people come back and find they need graduate degrees," Fels Admissions Director Michelle Garcia-Navarro said.
Institution of the program is contingent on the approval of the Penn General Council. Garcia-Navarro said there was no target for the number of people in the program, but estimated it would be about 10 percent of the about 35 students in the entering class.
