<--Previous page
"I think the Peace Corps is a good choice for me," Hasse says. "I get
to use my forestry skills and perfect my Spanish skills at the same
time."
While his decision to join the Peace Corps was not universally supported
by his family, his desire to travel and explore is understandable. His
parents, Bill and Sue Hasse of Kingsford, Mich., were Peace Corps volunteers
in Ethiopia.
"My mom thinks it's too dangerous," says Hasse. "But I can see lots
of paths opening up to me. I feel like I have the academic skills to
pursue any field I want."
Growing up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Hasse heard bedtime stories
that were more likely to start with "Just the other day IÉ" rather than
"Once upon a time."
"I would say, ÔDad, tell me an Africa story.' He would tell me these
incredible stories about what he and my mom did. It was like The Jungle
Book, only it was my parents."
Hasse's parents have visited 22 nations. Ben has a way to go to catch
up, but with 12 nations already under his belt, he is off to a good
start. He spent a recent spring break hiking through five European nations
in 11 days, living by his code, "the less you spend, the more you see."
He has studied in Spain, and this summer, Hasse spent 10 weeks in Honduras
helping farmers learn to diversify their crops. He also spent two spring
breaks in service to his church, working in the Appalachia region of
the United States.
But his most ambitious trip was a 10-week stay in Antarctica as a research
assistant in 1998.
"That was the experience of a lifetime. I got to do a little of everything,
I even spent 10 days at the South Pole," he says.
Hasse was just as busy during his stay on the West Lafayette campus.
He was a volunteer youth instructor at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic
Church and also volunteered at the Lafayette Urban Ministry homeless
shelter. He has coordinated a sexual abstinence program at Harrison
High School, served as a teaching assistant for two forestry courses,
and tutored forestry and natural resources students in math and statistics.
Get Word Document
