Recruiters for the country's three premier service programs say students can expect to reap rewards by helping others but should not forget that not choosing corporate American can be a sacrifice.
Leaders from Americorps, Teach For America and the Peace Corps have seen interest in their programs spike since President Bush's call for service in his State of the Union address and the nation's economic recession. The programs also offer deferment of student loans and credits eliminating a percentage of federal Perkins loans.
Americorps has three programs available for students that have open deadlines throughout the year for fall, spring and summer volunteers.
Americorps NCCC, the most competitive program, is for 18-24 years olds interested in 10 months of service. During the program, students travel every six to eight weeks to work on new projects, including everything from assisting Habitat for Humanity in building homes to disaster relief efforts.
The state or national program allows volunteers to work with state or national nonprofit agencies to help a community. The service commitment can include part-time jobs such as tutoring in an after-school program.
Vista volunteers live and work in a community in the United States establishing service programs and working to improve different aspects.
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Rachael Bambenek, a Wisconsin native and the southwest recruiter for Americorps, was a Vista volunteer who worked in Texas for a year on literacy campaigns.
While praising the program, Bambenek said some students have a hard time with $700-$900 monthly living stipend that must be used to pay all bills including rent.
"Another hard thing is that when you go into a community, you want to be an advocate for change and sometimes some people don't necessarily want that change or want it from an outsider," she said.
But, she said the benefits far outweighed the sacrifice.
"It was great getting to see new parts of the country and serving by helping out others," she said. "I really felt like I made a difference."
Teach For America is open to recent college graduates from all fields of study interested in a two-year teaching commitment in impoverished U.S. communities. The deadline for the program for graduating seniors has already passed, but juniors considering it need to apply in October for the summer of 2003.
Bernardo Navarro, program director for the Gallup area, said the program includes intense summer training before students become teachers. Teach For America leaders and the schools students are assigned to work in conduct the training.
Navarro taught for two years in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He is originally from the Philippines, grew up in New York City, went to college in Connecticut and joined Teach For America to continue helping inner city youth he had volunteered to help when he was in college.
"The hard thing about Teach For America is that you are a first year teacher and are expected to make a difference right away because that is really the purpose of the program," he said. "You also might have a tough time if you are assigned to a school district that doesn't really embrace you or isn't ready for change."
But Navarro said that he walked away from his experience in the program with hundreds of stories about his students that make the sacrifice seem minimal. One of those was the story of a girl from Mexico who only spoke Spanish and was assigned to his class. He said her self-confidence was down and she struggled to keep up with her peers.
"But when she scored perfectly on Spanish writing portion of the state standardized test, I'll never forget the look in her eyes when I told her the test results," Navarro said. "It was like she just lit up because she knew that she really was smart."
Willie Richardson, the UNM coordinator for the Peace Corps, says the popular international service program has no deadlines but that students interested in the program should apply eight to 10 months in advance.
A college degree is not a requirement and a person needs to be at least 18 years old and in reasonably good health to join the program.
Volunteers can request regions, but those interested in Latin America or French-speaking Africa must have reasonably good language skills.
The service commitment is for two years and Richardson says the program has a 33 percent dropout rate because the adjustment to life in remote areas can be difficult for some people who may not have ever left the United States.
"Some people also have to deal with being alone in a new country and the language barrier can be very tough," he said. "Some people also have a hard time with the food or living on a small stipend."
Richardson added that those who stick with the program get to see the world, serve their country, build their rÇsumÇ and learn more than they ever could in the classroom.
"It is a sacrifice, but most of our volunteers would never trade it for anything," Richardson said.
Recruiters from all three service programs encourage students intersted in volunteering to visit their Web sites. Americorps is www.americorps.org, Teach For America's is www.teachforamerica.org and the Peace Corps is www.peacecorps.org. Each Web site includes the history of each program and more information about how to apply for them.
