In the years since its founding, UNC has produced a total of 1,658 participants for two of the foremost organizations for global service.
The Peace Corps at UNC has risen to fourth in the nation among Peace Corps volunteer-producing colleges and universities. UNC is also ranked tenth in the nation for Fulbright Scholarship Award recipients. These two organizations provide students across the country with the opportunity to explore global service opportunities by traveling to other countries to exchange ideas and contribute to the solving of shared international concerns.
Ron Strauss, the chief international officer and executive vice provost at UNC, said the intention of the Peace Corps here is to give students an opportunity to work internationally through community service. Strauss said being ranked fourth in the nation among large colleges and universities is a prestigious honor, as many in this category, such as Ohio State and Michigan State, are much larger than UNC population-wise.
“I think Carolina students have a sense of giving back, of gratitude,” Strauss said. “They seek opportunities like Peace Corps to make a real global impact, which is why Carolina’s rank has gradually gotten higher over the past five years.”
One of the UNC students selected for this opportunity to serve is senior Sydney Bezanson who will be stationed in the West African country of Benin, working in the educational sector for 27 months.
“I knew I wanted to work internationally after graduation at some point, and the Peace Corps offered me a great opportunity to learn and immerse myself abroad,” Bezanson said. “I considered a lot of options, but it was then that I realized I had the time to do something challenging.”
As far as resources at UNC for getting involved with the Peace Corps, Bezanson said there were many people who were available to help her through the process of joining. She said she was assigned a Peace Corps recruiter who sat down with her, answered all her questions and helped her through the application process.
“I’m really indebted to faculty and my fellow students here at Carolina,” Bezanson said. “They opened my eyes to how much there is to learn, and I look forward to gaining cross-cultural skills and developing some meaningful relationships with others in an increasingly globalized world.”
In addition to the Peace Corps, the Fulbright Scholarship is a nationally recognized global service program provided through UNC. The scholarship gives students the opportunity to self-design a research project or serve as a teaching assistant in one of 140 countries.
