PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

63One possible reason people of color do not join the Peace Corps is that a two yearcommitment would take them away from beginning a career. The key recruitmentelement of self-service is used to combat these career concerns. The director of PeaceCorps states, “Recruiters need to talk about the professional opportunities beneficial toparents that have invested a lot of money in their children.” 121Self-service is a highlyeffective rhetorical response to families concerned with volunteer service. Pointing outthe professional benefits is way to assuage concerns about money-earning potential.People of color are often the first in their families to go to college. Families who havesupported their children though college wish to see them start a career and begin earningmoney. The organization addresses this directly by stating, “Parents who have workedhard to get a child through college, or struggled to bring children to the United States insearch of economic opportunity, may feel disappointed that their son or daughter will notdive into a high-paying job right after graduation.” 122This concern is not seen in otherrecruitment rhetoric. Peace Corps aims this message at people of color because workingfor little to no money following an expensive college education may seem foolish toparents who have invested in their child’s education.The Peace Corps suggests that “people of color” might also be discouraged fromserving abroad rather than in their local communities. The Peace Corps web site states,“[o]thers might think that Americans should help improve the quality of life in their owncommunity.” 123People from non-white backgrounds may feel pressure to volunteer intheir own community or within their own ethnic group rather than serving a foreigncountry. These concerns are addressed in another recruiting tool, “volunteer profiles.”