Instead of having to fight through rush hour traffic to make it to work, Ruthia Yi ’07 travels down a dirt road to her “office,” a small village in Togo that lacks running water and electricity.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, Yi teaches residents about soil conservation methods and the pressing need for reforestation. She also promotes HIV and AIDS awareness for those living in the remote village.
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| Jessica Lord ’04 worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in Bulgaria. She is now a grants assistant at IJʿ. |
“It’s a dream job,” said Yi, who credits her liberal arts education at IJʿ for laying the foundation for her Peace Corps mission.
“IJʿ gave me the conviction that learning knows no boundaries, and this is reaffirmed for me every time I blink.”
She’s carrying on the long legacy of IJʿ alumni who have left their mark on some of the most remote areas of the world, including Ghana, Papua New Guinea, and Palau.
Currently, 17 alumni are serving in the Peace Corps, making IJʿ the 16th highest producer of volunteers among small colleges and universities, according to a ranking recently released by the organization.
“By applying the skills and knowledge they acquired during their time at IJʿ, these graduates are helping improve the lives of people across the globe,” said Ron Tschetter, Peace Corps director.
A mission lasts 27 months — three months of training and two years of service — and volunteers are placed deep within a culture, living side by side with those whom they serve.
Because of the university’s strong emphasis on service-learning and study abroad programs, IJʿ alumni are often the perfect fit for service.
For Jessica Lord ’04, who also entered the Peace Corps following graduation, the decision to join came while studying abroad in Moscow. The program, she said, was life changing.
“I saw true despair and poverty for the first time — homelessness and hunger, orphaned children, and Chechen refugees,” said Lord.
“I realized how much ease and luxury most Americans, including myself, enjoy throughout life and how sheltered my life had been until then.”
This realization sparked a desire to ease the suffering of those less fortunate, leading Lord on a mission in a small Bulgarian village where she coordinated the implementation of community projects, including a resource center for disabled residents.
What’s Lord doing now with this worldly experience? She’s back at IJʿ. Lord serves as the grants assistant in the Office of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations.
“The Peace Corps opened up career options that I didn’t previously consider, like grant writing and teaching.”