Christopher Abram, a 2004 graduate of  Hamilton College, is currently serving with the Peace Corps in South Africa.  Working as an education resource volunteer, Abram, 25, hopes to put his degree in government, and previous community service experience, to good use.  “Education is the foundation of society.  It sounds cliché, but with education, everything really is possible,” he says.

Before his departure in July 2006, Chris spent two years in Washington D.C., working on education policy at the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a non-governmental agency that advocates for better teaching at the federal, state and local level.  He also volunteered for Horton’s Kids, a comprehensive program that works to improve the daily lives of impoverished children.  “[Working at the NCTQ] was interesting and it gave me a policy background, but after a year I decided I wanted to do more work on the ground.  And since I already have friends and connections in South Africa, it just made sense,” says Abram.

Six months into his two-year journey, Chris has now settled into life in the township of  Sidlamfa with his extended South African family.  According to his American family, back in Danvers, Mass., he is thriving.  “We are of the Peace Corps generation, so it pleases us greatly to see John F. Kennedy’s legacy being carried on,” says his mother Carolyn Abram. 

While at Hamilton, Chris was co-chair of the senior gift committee, a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Young Alumni Leadership Program, Men’s Crew team and a DJ on WHCL.