Alums widen world of business in Peace Corps

From writing grants and organizing workshops for entrepreneurs to teaching safe motherhood and malaria prevention, alumni's cultural and career ambitions lead them to apply school lessons to volunteerism.

W. P. Carey alums are taking their business experience to new levels as volunteers with the Peace Corps.

Michael Hutchison (BA Economics ’08, MBA ’11) is volunteering in community economic development in western Ukraine, beginning his two-year assignment in 2016. He works with a nonprofit that is training and advising communities as Ukraine’s government decentralizes and local governments take on more administrative responsibilities. He helps write grants, organizes workshops for entrepreneurs, and gives presentations on American business practices.

Alexandra Payan (BS Business Law ’15) has been volunteering in Madagascar since 2016. Working with a not-for-profit, she joins doctors, nurses, and researchers on expeditions to rural villages, where they provide health care and teach safe motherhood, malaria prevention, and water sanitation. She also teaches English, agriculture, and entrepreneurial skills in her village.

Veronica Esquivel (BS Management/Supply Chain Management ’12) volunteered in community economic development in the Dominican Republic for two years and returned earlier this year. She worked in a rural community, helping improve business practices of farmers who harvested and sun-dried orange peels for export. She also helped with programs to empower youths and to train women entrepreneurs.

Cultural, career ambitions pave path to Peace Corps

Hutchison and Esquivel had similar reasons for joining the Peace Corps. He was eight years into a successful career with a health insurance company when he decided to change his lifestyle and career path while indulging his passion for travel and learning about different cultures. Esquivel sought to do more with her corporate experience and training. "I wanted to use my skills to assist businesses in emerging markets directly," she says. "So, I traded my cubicle for the Caribbean."

Payan has been entranced by Africa, and loved community service, since childhood. Having learned at W. P. Carey the importance of being creative and adaptable, she recognized that serving in the non-business sector of rural health care would make her a more diverse and well-rounded job candidate."The business of doing business," she says, "is not limited to the boardroom, office, or stock market."

Business skills benefit volunteer work

Hutchison's W. P. Carey education helps him understand business owners and community leaders when they share details of their ideas, business models, and resources. His MBA and work experience also help him gain trust as a colleague who can contribute to the community's success.

"I wanted to use my skills to assist businesses in emerging markets directly," she says. "So, I traded my cubicle for the Caribbean."

Esquivel says she used business school concepts to help the orange farmers implement inventory controls to reduce waste and to reuse packaging materials to substantially cut costs. That left more money to be reinvested in the community, improving the well-being of families for generations to come.

Language lessons bridge social gap

Besides improving her Spanish and her confidence working in Latin America markets, Esquivel says the experience showed her the importance of cultivating international relationships. "I have become a global citizen, gaining an appreciation, respect, and responsibility to the world community," she says.

Intensive classes in Malagasy paid off for Payan because most people in rural villages know only their region's dialect. She calls the hardships transformative and loves the diversity of her experiences.

Hutchison has been studying Ukrainian and has met many people who speak English or are eager to learn it. He's gone from having no idea what others in a room are talking about to having Ukrainian friends who invite him to family celebrations and Ukrainian colleagues who genuinely want to improve their community. "A surprising aspect is the enjoyment I get from working hard for something other than a future pay raise," he says. "My passion motivates me, so it's less stressful, and I'm able just to enjoy the process."

When they return, the alums say they expect to make more changes. Hutchison might become a project manager for a municipality. Payan wants to attend law school, study global health, or international law, and return to Madagascar. Esquivel plans to do more economic development focused on promoting binational relationships.