Soon-to-be Peace Corps volunteers were recognized at a reception
sponsored by the Padnos International Center.
Image credit - Jess Weal
Sendoff honors new Peace Corps invitees, returned volunteers
May 3, 2017
President Thomas J. Haas addresses the audience.
Image credit - Jess Weal
Carissa Patrone, Peace Corps recruiter
Image credit - Jess Weal
Image credit - Jess Weal
It was a popular book that spurred Grand Valley alumna Darrarta Ali to re-evaluate her life, and decide to leave her job in Grand Rapids to join the U.S. Peace Corps.
Ali, who earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2015, is among a dozen recent graduates from Grand Valley and other West Michigan colleges who will begin their Peace Corps service soon. The Padnos International Center held a reception for Peace Corps invitees and returned volunteers April 26 at the L. William Seidman Center.
Ali will serve in Morocco, North Africa, as a youth development volunteer. "I've always wanted to give back to Africa," said Ali, whose ancestors are from Ethiopia.
She said reading "The Alchemist," by Paulo Coelho, gave her an opportunity for career reflection.
"It's about looking within yourself for guidance and it suggests that as a child, you already know what you want to do with your life," Ali said. "The Peace Corps has always been on my mind."
Last year, Grand Valley became the third campus in Michigan to host a part-time Peace Corps campus recruiter. Carissa Patrone connects and recruits students from West Michigan campuses: Grand Valley, Kendall College of Art and Design, Calvin College, Hope College and Aquinas College.
Ben Bartelmay, a 2016 Grand Valley graduate, saw one of Patrone's flyers promoting the Peace Corps on campus and arranged a meeting to learn more.
Bartelmay, who earned a degree in accounting, volunteered for AmeriCorps for a year and said the Peace Corps will allow him to see a different part of the world. He will serve in Comoros, an island nation near Madagascar, teaching English to secondary students.
President Thomas J. Haas attended the reception to thank invitees and returned volunteers for their service. He called their service "noble."
"You will put yourself in circulation to help others, and not go with all of the answers," Haas said. "This is a demonstrated commitment to service, it's noble."
Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1961, approximately 248 Grand Valley alumni have served as volunteers.
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