Students filed into the Gallery in Founders hall at 4 p.m. on Oct. 28, receiving catalogs with photographs of people around the world. Sherlene Ferguson, Regional Recruiter of the Peace Corps in Greensboro, had to return to her car to get more as the number of students multiplied. “I knew Guilford was a good school, but I didn’t know it was that good,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, who has been in the Peace Corps for over 10 years, began the information session with a little history about the Peace Corps. It began in the 1960s under the Kennedy administration with three goals in mind: 1) for Americans to take their skills to developing nations to help with business, education, technology, health, other needed services; 2) for Americans to have a cross cultural experience and to dispel any myths about the culture; and 3) for the Americans to come back to the U.S. and share their experiences with others.

Although this is a volunteer-based program, a monthly stipend, based on the cost of living in the specific country, is paid for by U.S. tax dollars. Transportation is covered, as well as health costs.

Although volunteers may not earn a lot of money, Ferguson says, “They come back wealthy in skills and knowledge.”

Volunteers are matched with their destinations partly by their own preference, but also based on what type of help the country is asking for.

“Maybe you want to go to Gambia and work in healthcare, but Gambia needs education workers,” said Ferguson. “Senegal is right beside Gambia, and Senegal needs healthcare, so we’ll give you the option of going to Senegal.”

The application for Peace Corps is 12 pages long, not including transcripts, resumes, essays, and references. On the application, volunteers are asked to specify areas of interest such as crafting, any hobbies, or special training they have received.

After the application is reviewed, the volunteer is interviewed, and a Peace Corps worker decides if the person is eligible for volunteering. A placement officer does a background check on the person, after which he matches the application with a country. The person receives an invitation to join the Peace Corps in that certain country, which (s)he has the option of accepting or not.

Once a volunteer arrives in a country, (s)he undergoes intensive training, which Ferguson said could be up to eight hours a day, seven days a week for 8-12 weeks. During this time the volunteer stays with the family, practicing the language and learning vital skills for living in the specific country.

“The first six months is a rollercoaster ride,” Ferguson said. “It might feel like a vacation sometimes, and then you get homesick for a while, but after that the rest is a breeze.”

For returning volunteers, school and work options are aided by the government. A job hotline makes available a list of job vacancies, and career centers help people find the right job for them. Peace Corps volunteers also get first preference for government jobs.

Those volunteers who want to earn their master’s degree can choose from two programs, Master’s International and Fellows/USA, which incorporate Peace Corps work into the degree.

Student loans accumulated during college before entering the Peace Corps can be deferred; there is a forgiveness policy with the Stafford and Perkin’s student loans of up to 20% a year.

The typical length of a volunteer’s tour is 27 months, but can extend up to five years. After being away from the American lifestyle for so long, Ferguson said that most people have more of a shock coming back than they did leaving.

“You think you know what you’re coming back to, but technology develops so fast that when you come back, a lot of things are different,” she said. “And in many other countries their sense of punctuality is different. It might be okay to show up 45 minutes late to a meeting over there, but show up late here and you’re fired. It’s hard adjusting to that.”

At the end of the session, Ferguson took questions. First-year Colin Bussiere-Nichols student, asked about the personal interaction between the natives and the American Peace Corps volunteers and whether or not westerners were looked at as seeming superior to the native people.

Ferguson answered: “Arrogance doesn’t last long anywhere because the people aren’t ignorant. They know when they are being belittled.”

. “I went to the session because of personal interest and because I had heard some things about the Peace Corps that made me skeptical,” Bussiere-Nichols said later.

First-year Brennan Aberle was satisfied with the presentation. “I learned a lot more about specific jobs that I could do with the Peace Corps,” he said.

For those who want more information about the Peace Corps can visit the website, www.peacecorps.gov or contact Sherlene Ferguson at [email protected].