Graduates find work abroad

In the midst of a domestic crisis, problems overseas have taken a temporary backseat for some.

But for Christine Bixiones, the newly inaugurated Peace Corps recruiter at UNC, there is always work to be done beyond the borders of the United States.

As a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, she experienced that fact firsthand. A graduate of UNC, Bixiones received a bachelor's degree in political science in 2002. Three months later, she left for South America for 27 months.

And she's been telling people about it ever since.

Last Wednesday, her second day on the job, Bixiones' blonde hair framed her face in pleasant curls as she spoke softly of the poverty in the island village where she stayed, the children running barefoot through trash and the mosquitoes.

But, she was careful to add, "There are all these gifts along the way."

The Jacksonville native worked with an institute that gave scholarships to working children. She also started a library with community kids, taught sex education to high school students, built a community garden and studied Afro-ecuadorian history.

"You go in with lots of idealism and that changes because you realize how much there is to do and how little time two years is," she says.

With 138 countries currently served and 178,000 trainees to date since its inception in 1961, Peace Corps banks on the idealism of recent graduates like Bixiones to volunteer more than two years of service overseas.

The application process takes an average of six to nine months and includes an interview, a nomination and a geographic placement followed by medical and legal approval.

Dozens of UNC students go through the process every year. With 60 volunteer alumni in 2004, UNC tied with the University of Florida at 14th place in the large colleges and universities category of schools that produced the most

Peace Corps volunteers .

Jacquelyn Gist, assistant director of UNC Career Services and a member of the Carrboro Board of Alderman, says that along with Teach for America, Peace Corps consistently grabs high numbers of graduating students.

Five years ago, before the UNC Peace Corps recruiting office existed, Gist told students about the cross-continental opportunities.

Gist comes from a Peace Corps familyA-A-A- herself - her father is the former director of Peace Corps in Jamaica, and her sister was a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa's Ivory Coast, where she met her future husband.

And for those who don't find their better half, Gist says they'll find other perks when their time is up.

"Peace Corps is really great careerwise because the jobs that people do in Peace Corps generally have more responsibility and autonomy than in a regular job in the States," she says.

"Most people who are interested in international nonprofits at least look at Peace Corps."

Chris Ormsby was the Peace Corps recruiter on campus from 2003 until last May, and he says he has seen volunteers come from almost every academic department.

They work in a variety of program areas including: health, environmental conservation, education, agriculture and small business development.

One program area stood out, though, says Ormsby.

HIV/AIDS was the largest area of interest among applicants from UNC, and Bixiones says that almost every volunteer in Africa does some work in that field.

"It's needed," she says.

Bixiones says she will be at a Career Services career fair on Sept. 22, and will hold three Peace Corps information sessions this month.

Lucky for her, the experience is fresh in her mind.

While walking through a museum in Washington, D.C., Bixiones says she was reminded of her family in Ecuador.

She says she found herself thinking, "I would love to take them here, they would get a kick out of this."

 

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.