As graduation and the job market loom over seniors, senior finance and banking major Denny Alcorn has looked to alternative job choices for the future.

Alcorn plans to spend the summer split between serving as a research intern in the biochemistry field and working as a Martha Guy Summer Institute leader. Martha Guy is an Appalachian State University program that fosters future business leaders.

“I did it as a high schooler and it’s one of the main reasons why I came to Boone,” Alcorn said.

And currently, Alcorn is in the midst of the interview process to join the Peace Corps. An extensive process, including interviewing and nomination, could lead Alcorn to a two-year volunteer commitment with the organization.

“My dad wanted me to get a steady job in the U.S. and build up some savings, but my mom has always told me to go and do before I settle down,” he said.

The 9-to-5 life his peers have started to seek didn’t have much appeal for Alcorn.

With the Peace Corps, the senior said he hopes to work in medical education, perhaps in South America or sub-Saharan Africa.

It comes as no surprise for senior biology major Lindsey Bradshaw that Alcorn is stepping away from the usual mold.

“I think most of us are so stuck in our bubble that we don’t consider stepping outside the box or our comfort zone,” Bradshaw said. “I think he is a really great face to represent what he will be doing.”

Upon his return, Alcorn will start the process of applying to medical schools, a mindset his mother helped develop in him.

“My mom studies microbiology and she instilled in me a curiosity for scientific ventures,” he said. “I started to becoming interested in healing the body. Volunteering in hospitals has left me wanting to make a difference in the developing world.”

Story: LAURA GUIDRY, Intern Lifestyles Reporter
Photo: MAGGIE COZENS, Senior Photographer