HWS News
11 April 2024 • Service Loomis '24 to Serve in Peace Corps By Natalia St. Lawrence '16
Alanson Loomis ’24 will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji.
Following graduation, Alanson Loomis ’24 will serve as a Peace Corps Community Economic Development Facilitator in Fiji.
Loomis will arrive in Fiji’s capital city Suva for three months of training before beginning his placement in a rural village. Typically, Peace Corps volunteers in Fiji are placed in villages with 50-500 people.
Loomis’ role will be to support community organizations, small businesses and youth groups in the village. His focus will be on developing financial literacy and supporting income-generating activities.
This spring, Ahmed Wise '24 was also accepted in to the Peace Corps. Wise will serve as a Community Health Outreach Volunteer in Kenya.
An economics major and history minor, Loomis says his most influential coursework at HWS has been “International Macroeconomics” with his adviser Associate Professor of Economics H. Evren Damar. “The content definitely sparked my interest in working abroad,” he says.
Loomis says he has been interested in the Peace Corps since middle school. He didn’t decide to apply, however, until he transferred to Hobart and William Smith as a sophomore.
“I met President Mark Gearan, who gave me really helpful insights about the program,” he says, noting President Gearan served as the 14th Director of the Peace Corps. Loomis also had the opportunity to call Johanna Golden ’23, who is currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco.
At Commencement this spring, Loomis and the HWS Class of 2024’s commencement speaker will be Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn.
“My family was really excited for me that she was going to be my commencement speaker,” Loomis says. “It’ll be a special moment.”
On campus, Loomis is member of Delta Chi. With his fraternity, Loomis has participated in Days of Service and Greek Days of Service. Recently, Loomis and his fraternity brothers volunteered at Rural and Migrant Ministry in Lyons, N.Y.
He also participates in the Outdoor Recreation Adventure Program.
