Spring Break
A passion for the peace corps
by Ellie Einhorn
Features | 4/15/08
Posted online at 12:51 AM EST on 4/29/08
A new version of this story has been posted due to several factual errors and a misquoted source. The Justice regrets the errors.
Four years after graduating with degrees in psychology and anthropology, Mical Natoniewski '01 decided she wanted to "learn about education in a different country."
With this goal in mind, Natoniewski joined the Peace Corps. She worked in Paraguay, as an early elementary education volunteer.
Natoniewski recalls a challenging, yet rewarding volunteer experience.
"It was difficult to communicate due to language barriers," Natoniewski wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
Among the languages spoken in Paraguay are Spanish, the indigenous language Guaraní and Jopará, a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish.
Natoniewski, who joined the Peace Corps four years after graduation, was one of an increasing number of Brandeis alumni to serve in the Peace Corps.
Last year, 16 Brandeis alumni volunteered for the Peace Corps. The volunteers' majors ranged from biology to international relations.
A total of 234 Brandeis alumni have volunteered for the Peace Corps in the past, out of 190,000 volunteers since the Peace Corps' inception in 1961, according to Joanna O'Brien, a Peace Corps public affairs specialist.
Brandeis ranks No. 21 in Peace Corps Top Colleges and Universities 2008, a list of colleges and universities that produced the most Peace Corps volunteers in 2007. At the top of the list are University of Chicago, Gonzaga University and Willamette University.
O'Brien linked Brandeis' high ranking to the type of students that Brandeis has fostered.
"Maybe it's because Brandeis University attracts these types of students or maybe it is fostered on campus, but there always seems to be a great interest in public service; they are very community minded and are always interested in helping others," O'Brien said.
Natoniewski said the community in which she worked was especially hospitable.
Four years after graduating with degrees in psychology and anthropology, Mical Natoniewski '01 decided she wanted to "learn about education in a different country."
With this goal in mind, Natoniewski joined the Peace Corps. She worked in Paraguay, as an early elementary education volunteer.
Natoniewski recalls a challenging, yet rewarding volunteer experience.
"It was difficult to communicate due to language barriers," Natoniewski wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
Among the languages spoken in Paraguay are Spanish, the indigenous language Guaraní and Jopará, a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish.
Natoniewski, who joined the Peace Corps four years after graduation, was one of an increasing number of Brandeis alumni to serve in the Peace Corps.
Last year, 16 Brandeis alumni volunteered for the Peace Corps. The volunteers' majors ranged from biology to international relations.
A total of 234 Brandeis alumni have volunteered for the Peace Corps in the past, out of 190,000 volunteers since the Peace Corps' inception in 1961, according to Joanna O'Brien, a Peace Corps public affairs specialist.
Brandeis ranks No. 21 in Peace Corps Top Colleges and Universities 2008, a list of colleges and universities that produced the most Peace Corps volunteers in 2007. At the top of the list are University of Chicago, Gonzaga University and Willamette University.
O'Brien linked Brandeis' high ranking to the type of students that Brandeis has fostered.
"Maybe it's because Brandeis University attracts these types of students or maybe it is fostered on campus, but there always seems to be a great interest in public service; they are very community minded and are always interested in helping others," O'Brien said.
Natoniewski said the community in which she worked was especially hospitable.
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