Thursday, Sep. 22, 2011
The Organization Has Many (Unlikely) Famous Alumni
"Once you have hitchhiked across Africa with ten bucks in your pocket, starting a business doesn't seem too intimidating." So said Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings when asked about how his experience in the Peace Corps influenced his career. Hastings is just one of the organization's many famous alumni, which also include political pundit Chris Matthews, Lillian Gordy Carter (who applied to volunteer when she was a sprightly 68!) and former Senator Chris Dodd. Even This Old House host Bob Vila spent a few years in Panama as a volunteer in the early 1970s. Perhaps that's where he learned how to build houses?