More than a half-century after his great-uncle, President John F. Kennedy, issued an executive order to establish the Peace Corps, U.S. Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III will visit Boston College to speak at a special event commemorating the organization’s 55th anniversary.
A long-time Peace Corps proponent, Congressman Kennedy was a volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2004-06. He will share the podium with Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet, who from 1981-83 served in Western Samoa.
The event will take place on Friday, March 18, at 2 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons. Members of the University community are invited, and students are encouraged to attend to learn more about the Peace Corps’ legacy of public service and the opportunities it offers to make a difference around the world.
“Boston College has a long history of producing alumni who serve in the Peace Corps, and we are proud that the University will be a host site to celebrate its 55th anniversary,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Joseph Du Pont, who oversees the BC Career Center and the University’s career services effort.
“That tradition of service continues to this day with many current students considering joining the Peace Corps once they graduate, and we expect to have another strong class of incoming Peace Corps volunteers from BC again this year,” added Du Pont, who will give opening remarks at the event. “Given our emphasis on ‘men and women for others,’ we are thrilled that the Peace Corps and Boston College have such a strong, vibrant relationship.”
Boston College consistently ranks among the top colleges and universities in the nation from which the Peace Corps recruits and trains volunteers.
BC alumna Anne Gillian Freedman ’13—who works to improve standards of maternal health and child development as a community health promotion volunteer in Peru—will appear via Skype. She will discuss her experiences living and working overseas, and participate in a question-and-answer session.
“I am the first health volunteer in my site, so part of what I am hoping to leave is a more participative community, with colleagues that are more accustomed to working with Peace Corps, and to hopefully facilitate the next volunteer’s work and experience in the community,” Freedman said in a Peace Corps Northeast interview. At BC, the Baltimore resident majored in international studies with a focus in ethics and social justice.
“I had some really formative professors at Boston College that had been Peace Corps volunteers. When I was starting to look into the possibility of applying, my conversations with these professors," Freedman said.
Boston College, which was selected to host a celebration of the Peace Corp’s 50th anniversary in 2011, will conclude this year's event with a reception. For more information visit the Boston College Career Center website.
—Rosanne Pellegrini | News & Public Affairs