With graduation approaching, many Iowa State students may still be looking for the answer to the question, “What are you doing after graduation?”

There are so many different options that it can be hard for a person not knowing what they truly want to do with their life to make the direct transition from college to career.

For Iowa State alumnae Mary Runkel and Ashley Archer, AmeriCorps, a non-profit organization, is helping them make the transition.

The two ISU alumnae had a booth in the Memorial Union on Wednesday to inform students about opportunities after graduation with AmeriCorps. Archer is a AmeriCorps coalition specialist and Runkel is a mentoring resources facilitator.

According to a brochure at the booth, AmeriCorps is a national service program that engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in solving community problems.

Runkel described AmeriCorps as a “domestic Peace Corps.” While Peace Corps assignments are overseas and last two years, AmeriCorps members serve in the United States and last about 10 months to one year. AmeriCorps members can also be part-time or they can also serve more than one term of service.

Although both ISU alumnae ended up at AmeriCorps, each of them had a different story and reason as to how they ended up with the organization.

Archer had been a part-time jailer and dispatcher for about 8 months in her hometown of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, before returning to Ames to join AmeriCorps.

“It was really hard, you know, once you’re done being a jailer and dispatcher, it’s really hard not to take those 911 calls home with you and think about it constantly,” Archer said when asked about the transition to AmeriCorps. “It’s a different kind of stress.”

While working at the jail, Archer had decided that she wanted to try to help prevent people from getting to that point.

“I knew you needed to start out young and that’s why I started looking into youth and children services and the programs that [AmeriCorps] had and really just fit with what I had been thinking would interest me and what I wanted to do,” Archer said.

Runkel applied for another job in Ames where one of the references she used told her to apply to Youth and Shelter Services’ Great Relationships in Pairs Mentoring Program to be an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America member.

“The reason I knew the reference is because I was a mentor with the program she facilitated,” Runkel said.

Runkel said that for a person looking to make America a better place to be, whether that is in their home community or a whole new unfamiliar place, AmeriCorps may be a good program bridge to transition.

Activities include helping children succeed in school, helping those in need after a natural disaster, helping veterans and military families and protecting the environment in your local community or another area in the United States.

“You can help build houses, trials, assist people in senior centers, help with disaster relief, and there’s a green core that a lot of people are interested in,” Runkel said.

There are many different programs and events a person can do within AmeriCorps programs.

Runkel advised that if a person has a heart for service, they should go on to the AmeriCorps website and check out the different opportunities.

“It just takes the time of going online and searching,” Archer said.