Oregon State University visited by recruiters

By THERESA HOGUE

Gazette-Times reporter

Jennifer Hagenow had already been an international traveler when she joined the Peace Corps in 2001, but nothing prepared her for the life-changing events she experienced in Senegal during her two years there.

Hagenow was so transformed by her work in the Peace Corps that she has made support of the corps her career. She is now the regional coordinator and recruiter for the Peace Corps Seattle office, and spends much of her time speaking with college students in Oregon.

This week, she spent several days at Oregon State University, sharing her stories and those of other volunteers.

The Peace Corps offers language skills, job training and many other benefits that help volunteers in their future careers, but in return it asks for a lot of hard work and dedication.

"We like to see a high level of commitment and motivation. All of our assignments last two years and three months or longer," she said. "Generally, our volunteers do have a bachelor's degree or more education but that's not necessarily a prerequisite."

More people have been joining the Peace Corps recently, and that could be due to a variety of factors, including the current world political situation and some Americans' desire to make a positive difference.

"We're at our highest level of volunteerism in 30 years," she said.

Hagenow said most volunteers are "action takers."

"There are a lot of volunteers who bring along this idea of being the change they want to see in this world."

Hagenow's own interest in the Peace Corps began when she was working in AmeriCorps and volunteering in her community. She had a degree in finance from University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and wanted to find a way to apply that business sense.

"There was always a little spark in me, a sense of adventure. I was definitely interested in other cultures, learning other languages, meeting people," she said. "I'm more of an extrovert, and I'm just interested in learning about other people."

She became a small enterprise development volunteer in Senegal from September 2001 through December 2003, and said she was lucky to find a welcoming community.

"It's hard to generalize 12 million people but they are some of the most welcoming, hospitable, effervescent and truly loving people I've ever met," she said.

Because Peace Corps volunteers are invited by the country and community in which they work, there is less risk that the volunteers will be seen as outsiders or interveners, because they are doing the work the community has requested.

"No volunteer is out there imposing themselves on the community," she said.

The volunteers are given extensive in-country training, including language and cultural competency, and are placed with a host family.

"By the end of three months people are pretty functional in at least one language, if not two," she said, "and know more or less how to do needs assessments in their community and how to best share the skills they've brought over with the community members they're trying to help."

Hagenow formed strong bonds with both the family she lived with and in the community she worked. She and her host family still speak on the phone or write once a month.

"What I'd really love to do is have my brothers and sisters and mother who took care of me, I'd love to be able host them, and love for them to meet my mom and my family, and to be able extend the same kind of warmth and hospitality they extended to me. In Senegal it was called 'teranga.' That was the word for hospitality."

The benefits for Hagenow and many others extend far beyond a well-padded resume and some exciting stories.

"I think it's one of the best experiences an American can afford him or herself, especially now. We are generally a people with such a strong spirit, so good-hearted, so good-natured, and we have so much to offer," she said. "Even if it does seem like a smaller scale, even if we're not changing the world, we can change a small part of it, and in the process, change ourselves."

Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.

PODCAST: To hear an interview with Peace Corps regional recruiter Jennifer Hagenow, go to www.gazettetimes.com/gt-to-go/podcasts