A UF organization dedicated to raising awareness about global development will hold a gala at 7 p.m. tonight in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
Nikita Bhakta, president of Recurso, the UF group hosting the gala, said she expects more than 150 people to attend the event, which will highlight the importance of international community service.
Allene Zanger, director of the Inter-American and Pacific Region of the Peace Corps, will give the opening remarks. Zanger will also give a speech about the Peace Corps at 5:30 p.m. in Turlington L007.
Edward W. Scott Jr., co-founder of the Center for Global Development, will speak about HIV and his work in Nicaragua.
Doors to the event open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free.
Amy Panikowski, a UF Peace Corps recruiter who helped organize the event, said UF is ranked first in Florida and 17th in the nation for Peace Corps volunteers. Still, Panikowski said there's room for students to gain more global awareness.
"It really is important to get out of Gainesville, get out of Florida and see the world," she said. "Fostering relationships with people very different from you is one of the ways we start making peace."
