EDUCATION TRENDS

At Monmouth U, a pipeline to the Peace Corps

On Friday, Middletown's Angelica Rosaperez becomes the first New Jersey collegian to graduate with a Peace Corps Prep certificate.

Jerry Carino
@njhoopshaven

 

Monmouth University senior Angelica Rosaperez at Deal Lake in Asbury Park.

For a few hours each week, even in the cold of January, you can find Angelica Rosaperez waist-deep in Deal Lake.

The Middletown resident volunteers as part of a research project assessing the lake’s water quality. It’s an experience that could prove valuable in her dream job -- the Peace Corps.

Rosaperez takes a step toward that dream Friday, at Monmouth University’s winter commencement, when she becomes the first New Jersey collegian to earn a Peace Corps Prep certificate. The document will bolster her application for the Peace Corps, which takes just 25 percent of applicants.

“I’ve always been interested in helping people and helping the environment,” said Rosaperez, whose degree will be in marine and environmental biology and policy. “Having this opportunity opens things up for me. It could change the whole course of my future.”

Last year, Monmouth became the first New Jersey college to offer the certification, joining roughly 60 others around the country.

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Monmouth University senior Angelica Rosaperez.

“They set a modest goal to recruit eight students into the program by the fall of 2016. Now we have 35,” said Jon Stauff, Monmouth’s vice provost for global education. “The program has exceeded all expectations.”

Peace Corps Prep focuses on certain academic areas -- health, English, education, agriculture, the environment, youth development and community development -- and includes a service component. Monmouth already had the pieces in place, so Rosaperez was considered prequalified for the certificate. It also helped that the 26-year-old has logged service experience abroad, collecting mangrove samples in the Bahamas for an environmental study a couple of years back.

“Her experience and her energy will go a long way,” said Monmouth University professor Frank Cipriani, who runs Peace Corps Prep at the school. “She’ll really make a difference. You can’t count the number of lives you’ll save by showing people how to purify or test water. Those are people who won’t get sick, who would have gotten sick otherwise.”

Cipriani knows a thing or two about the Peace Corps. His daughter Ella, a Toms River High School South graduate, is in the midst of the standard 27-month commitment. She’s stationed in Mongolia.

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Monmouth University senior Angelica Rosaperez at Deal Lake in Asbury Park.

“It’s like 40 degrees below zero there, but it’s the experience of her life,” he said.

As he noted, a Peace Corps stint can be life-altering.

“Returned Peace Corps volunteers have a zero percent unemployment rate,” Cipriani said. “Seventy percent of Peace Corps volunteers marry other Peace Corps volunteers. Once you’ve had that experience, it’s an enormous bond.”

Before she applies, Rosaperez plans to finish the Deal Lake study this spring. If accepted, she would like to serve in either Panama or Peru. The latter is her father’s homeland.

Cipriani is confident in her chances.

“Her social skills and her work ethic will translate anywhere in the world,” he said. “Those are things you can’t teach. And there is such a huge environmental need. She’ll represent her country and the shore in a very positive light.”

Staff Writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com