During the months before and after graduation, the majority of students prepare to enter the job market, attend graduate school or even complete post-graduate internships. Others decide to postpone entering their career fields by dedicating time to something else: service work.

Approximately 5 percent of Elon's 2011 graduating class who reported their post- graduate plans said they would be working for some type of service or nonprofit organization. Tom Vecchione, executive director of Career Services, said this number ranges anywhere from 3 to 15 percent each year.

Doubting her original plan to complete graduate school for physical or occupational therapy, senior Hayley Knicely, an exercise science major with public health and international studies minors, said she decided to apply for the Peace Corps to leave her options open.

"Right after graduation is the most opportune time for anyone to travel," she said. "I don't have anything tying me down: mortgages, car payments or even a serious romantic relationship."

Though Knicely said shehasn't decided for sure on her post-graduate plans, she received her Peace Corps assignment of Sub-Saharan African health extension. Wanting to return to Africa after spending her sophomore Winter Term in Ghana, Knicely said she is excited about her placement and might never have the opportunity to be involved in this kind of work again.

"This is something I've always wanted to do," she said. "It's something I'm so passionate about that, if I didn't take advantage of this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life."

Vecchione said he believes students have different reasons for choosing to become involved in service work right after college. For some, it could be the poor job market, and for others, service work may have already been a priority.

"Probably to some degree, the economy or putting off grad school has to be in their thought process," he said. "But it also comes out of a sincere concern to continue what they've done here. Students might think, 'It's a good time of my life to do it completely unrestricted.'"

A significant number of Elon students commit to full- time service involvement upon graduation, as referenced by the report for each graduating class, according to Vecchione. He said there isn't an easy way to compare Elon's numbers to those of other schools, which may not have a separate category for reporting service work. Elon's percentage, he said he imagined, was equal or above the percentage of students committing to nonprofits at other universities.

Vecchione said when students approach Career Services advisers about options after graduation, each student's situation must be assessed individually and all factors of the decision must be kept in mind.

"We backtrack and look at what other things are influencing the decision," he said. "We're not going to pull out a sheet saying, 'Here's the only way to do it.' If you go to a counseling session, you don't want to hear about what worked for Johnny. We try to work out a plan to move them forward based on where they're at."

That plan, he said, can often include advising the student to keep his or her options open and apply for multiple service programs and jobs at the same time.

Career Services has the contact information of alumni who have been or are involved with service organizations, and also works with and helps connect students to the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement.

"Students come in — torn would be the right word for some of them — and others are just concerned and simply want to verify they're on the right track and want to get a different perspective," Vecchione said. "Sometimes the student ends up being OK with trying multiple things. Not every 22-year-old leaves saying, 'I have to do this right now.'"