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UA makes top 20 list for Peace Corps recruitment

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - The University of Arizona has earned top-20 status among large colleges and universities producing Peace Corps  volunteers for the first time in three years.

Peace Corps 2009 data indicates that 52 UA alumni are serving in countries that include Albania, Belize, Botswana, China, Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, Thailand and Ukraine.

"The majority of volunteers are looking to gain international experience, hands-on field work and a sense of adventure traveling the world," said Aaron Hoholik, the UA's Peace Corps campus recruiter.

Additionally, the UA maintains the top spot among institutions in Arizona and has the second largest Peace Corps Fellows/USA program.

The Peace Corps also reported that UA alumni are serving in 32 of 76 countries where Peace Corps volunteers work, with the most Wildcats serving in Mozambique, Peru and Zambia.

All told, more than 1,300 UA students have served with the Peace Corps working on projects in business development and education, or working with youth and on projects related to the environment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, among other areas.

"For nearly 50 years, enthusiastic college alumni have contributed to the success of Peace Corps programs and our mission to promote world peace and friendship in host communities around the world," Aaron S. Williams, the Peace Corps director, said in a statement.

"I am proud of our historic relationship with over 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States," Williams added, "and look forward to recruiting and training the next generation of Peace Corps volunteers."

To inform more students about the organization and to encourage them to join, the UA will be hosting events during Peace Corps Week to inform students about ways to get involved with the organization.

A kick-off event to the week will be held Feb. 24 will a film screening of "The Devil Came on Horseback," a film about the crisis in Darfur. The film wil to be held at 7 p.m. in the Gallagher Theater and will include a panel discussion and a call to action to create mobilization around refugee community needs, said Hoholik, also a graduate student in the UA's teaching, learning and sociocultural studies department.

The fair, to be held March 2 from 4 to 7 p.m., will include more than 100 Peace Corps volunteers who will discuss their experiences and the demand for more volunteers. Andrew Comrie, the Graduate College dean, and Jack Vaughn, the second director of Peace Corps, are expected toJ attend the fair, which will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center.

"Volunteers want to take what they've learned in the classroom and apply it to real life situations," Hoholik said.

"If you are a passive participant in your community, you're not really aiding your community," Hoholik said. He added that volunteering with Peace Corps is a way "to make change and to bring peace into the world."

He volunteered in Chad and Benin in the education program, teaching English at high schools and informing his students about HIV and AIDS, nutrition, literacy and life skills.

"Our primary job is to build relationships with communities," Hoholik said, noting that Peace Corps volunteers work in small, rural communities.

"It's a life-changing experience and offers you a chance to get a different perspective of the global economy," Hoholik said, noting that all Peace Corps projects carry an element of education.

You are inundated so that you can become a member of the community and build friendships," he added, noting that he has remained in contact with numerous friends he