MACON - Eight Mercer University graduates have been selected to participate in two highly selective national and international service programs upon graduation on May 10. Rizza Ibanez, of Milledgeville, Ga., will enter the Peace Corps, while seven other members of the class of 2008 will participate in Teach For America, the rigorous and nationally competitive program that places top college graduates in low-income schools across the nation.
Rizza Bella Ibanez, 22, of Milledgeville, Ga., has been accepted into the Peace Corps.Ibanez departed for Mozambique on Sept. 30 to begin pre-service training as a community health development Peace Corps Volunteer. Upon graduating from Volunteer training in December, Ibanez will be assisting local organizations with training techniques to improve HIV/AIDS programs.Ibanez is the daughter of Lenon and Ester Ibanez, and a graduate of Baldwin County High School in Milledgeville, Ga. She then attended Mercer University in Macon, Ga., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, graduating in 2008. Ibanez previously traveled as a volunteer to Nicaragua on mission trips with Burford-Based Amigos for Christ."I chose Peace Corps because of its reputation and mission," said Ibanez. "Peace Corps stresses adaptation to the host country's culture and helps empower locals to meet their needs."During the first three months of her service, Ibanez will live with a host family in Mozambique to...
MACON - Mercer University is ranked in the top three in the Southeast for placement of Peace Corps volunteers among colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 undergraduate students. In the most recent fiscal year, 11 Mercer graduates were serving in the Peace Corps around the world, putting Mercer in a third-place tie with Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.
Two Mercer University students who are graduating this spring have been accepted into the Peace Corps.
Mercer University seniors Taylor Jolly and Heaven Woods have been selected to serve the Peace Corps following graduation this spring.
Mercer University student Gabriel Ramirez has been selected to serve the Peace Corps as a health volunteer in Ethiopia beginning in January.
Mercer University senior Caleb Barefield has been selected to serve the Peace Corps as a community and youth development volunteer in Armenia beginning in March.
Mercer University senior Kaitlyn Koontz has been selected to serve the Peace Corps as a community health volunteer in Ethiopia beginning in January.
Recent Mercer University graduate Emma Peel has been selected to serve in the Peace Corps as a health extension volunteer in Ecuador beginning next May.
Mercer University senior Angela Lent was recently selected to serve in the Peace Corps teaching secondary math in Guinea beginning in July.
