Peace Corps thrives with volunteerism on UNLV campus

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002 | 8:46 a.m.

Leon Holmes, 27, doesn't agree with the stereotype of American college kids only looking to have fun, out for No. 1.

And Brittany Smith, 20, would like to find a place somewhere where American culture is not, after seeing a young boy with a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt in the mountains of Tibet while on vacation.

Holmes and Smith were two of 12 people, mostly University of Nevada, Las Vegas students, who heard Peace Corps recruiter Rebecca Kramer's first pitch Tuesday from her new office on campus.

One of 40 universities around the country to partner with the 41-year-old organization in a program started this year, UNLV was chosen because it has seen a rise in interest in recent years from young people who want to volunteer abroad, said Dennis McMahon, spokesman for the regional office in San Francisco.

The Peace Corps offers training and a stipend for people to volunteer for two years in 70 countries around the world, helping local populations in areas ranging from health to agriculture to computers.

The number of applicants from Las Vegas has nearly doubled in the last nine years, going from 18 to 31, McMahon said.

This number can only go up, McMahon said. The organization has seen a marked increase in inquiries and applications nationwide since President Bush's reference to the Peace Corps in his January State of the Union address.

In the last nine months, the number of visitors to the corps' website has gone up almost 105 percent from the same period in 2001, and the number of applications has risen almost 26 percent.

"I think Americans in general are very giving, if given the chance," Holmes said after the meeting.

The second-year arts and computers student would like to train people in Bosnia or Africa to use the Internet, or work with children.

"There's a lot of places you can help," he said. "We as Americans enjoy a high degree of education and a better standard of living than people in many countries and it's only natural to give something back."

Smith, a sophomore majoring in international business and Spanish, would like to volunteer in South America.

"I like to experience a local point of view and see how different my life is at home," she said.

A changed point of view is the main thing Kramer said she brought back from her two years volunteering to teach about health in Ghana.

"I'll always look at things not through rose-colored glasses after my years in the Peace Corps," she said.