University of Miami students are all about helping others. Either that or they'd rather move to a third world country than move home jobless with mom and dad.
Regardless, UM ranks in the top 20 when it comes to the number of students who volunteer for the Peace Corps, according to David Leavitt-D'Agostino, Peace Corps public affairs specialist.
"The University of Miami is now ranked 15th among hundreds of medium-sized Peace Corps-producing undergraduate universities in the nation, said Leavitt-D'Agostino. "It's a significant accomplishment to enter this list and reflects highly on the university's internationally focused academic study and commitment to service learning."
Currently, 23 undergrad alumni are gridskipping, doing everything from teaching English to environmental studies -- fields the Corps deemed scarce skill areas.
Four graduate students are also currently serving, and, since the Corps was founded in 1961, 357 UM alum have served.
Even UM Prez Donna Shalala laced up her volunteer boots when she joined the Corps and headed to Iran in 1962, an experience she'll discuss this afternoon during an informational session on the Coral Gables campus.
George Washington University, American University, and Cornell topped the list.
Last year the Peace Corps received more than 15,000 applications, an 18 percent increase over 2008. The agency said that this is the largest number of applications they've received since 1998, which is when they started recording such data.
At least someone is benefitting from the crappy economy.
