With less than 100 days of school left for many graduating seniors, the age-old question, “So what are you going to do after graduation?” starts to weigh heavily on their minds.

A growing trend is not the typical corporate America, graduate, law or medical school response, as many graduates across the nation are choosing less mainstream paths.

Porter Searcy, a 2006 international business alumnus, saw the Peace Corps as a growing experience that could be beneficial to career goals back in the U.S. “How many times have you put effort into helping others?” Searcy said, who spent two years working and living in San Isidro, Costa Rica. “Instead of just going and helping people out, you learn so much about yourself.”

Since the creation of the Peace Corps in 1961 by former President John F. Kennedy, the promotion of world peace and friendship has remained a common mission among the past 190,000 volunteers in more than 139 countries worldwide.

Cultural exchange and a love for foreign languages were the motivations Jen Novelle, a 2007 marketing alumna, needed to apply for an English teaching assistantship in Ronda, Spain.

“Senior year came around and I was toying with the idea of going into the business world, but my heart wasn’t feeling it,” she said. “Now I wake up each morning and look out my window and think, ‘Oh right, I’m in Ronda.’ It was kind of surreal at the beginning, but of course by now, it’s become normal.”

National organizations are gaining popularity as well.

Teach for America, an organization that recruits graduates from all majors and places them in inner-city schools as teachers for two years, promotes a goal of ending inequality in American education. Since its creation in 1990, it has recruited more than 17,000 individuals.

Dania Haider, a senior international business major from Roswell, learned about Teach for America through a campus informational session and knew she wanted to do it.

“I really loved the mission of Teach for America,” she said. “You always remember that one teacher that inspired you and went the extra mile … I want to inspire my students to have a passion for learning.”

Haider said she believes her Teach for America experiences will help her during her pursuit of a law degree in human rights.

Carly Alford, a 2007 alumna who teaches fifth-grade math in Rio Grand Valley, Texas, saw Teach for America as a way of recognizing the urgency for teachers in low income areas.

“Kids are a product of their environment,” Alford said. “We get to know the kids and get to care for them, which makes us want to instill values in all of them.”

For Alford, using the University spirit was a way of creating school spirit within her classroom.

“I took the football chants and used them in my classroom. Instead of saying ‘Go Dogs, sic’ em, woof woof woof,’ we say, ‘Go math masters, sic’ em, woot woot woot’ and it gets them pumped up for class.”