Right or wrong, most people think of a Harvard degree as the ultimate passport to big bucks. Despite the Admissions Office's claims to the contrary, many students come to the College because of its reputation for producing generations of successful lawyers and businesspeople.

But not all students leave the Yard with visions of dollar sings dancing in their dreams. Many undergraduates have devoted their college career to helping the less fortunate members of the community. Over one-quarter of the student body is involved with the public service programs of Phillips Brooks House (PBH), Harvard and Neighborhood Development (HAND) and CityStep.

Now that they are seniors, several students have decided to stick with community work, unswayed by the lure of six-figure Wall Street salaries. They say they lament the lack of funds available for public service, but are pursuing their calling nonetheless.

"It is very depressing to see how many people have no direction at all, and go into investment banking and law firs, without knowing what they want to do," says Michelle D. Holdt '92.

Holdt says she became interested in pursuing a career in public service after she participated in a workshop with the Living Stage Theater Company. The Washington, D.C.-based group includes less fortunate individuals in special drama productions.

Holdt, who is a special concentrator in "drama and human development," has taught acting to young children from troubled families at a special needs classroom. Her thesis reported the affects of her program on the students.

"People here are pretty dedicated [to public service], but I wish there were more of them," Holdt says. She says she wants to "bring arts to people who are ordinarily denied them."

The Cambridge-based Stride-Rite Corporation has give Holdt the opportunity to spend this coming year following her interest. She is one of five seniors who recently received one of the company's $10,000 "Post-Graduate Incentive Grants" to help pursue careers in teaching and public service.

Greg A. Johnson '72, director of the Stride-Rite program, says Harvard undergraduates interested in public service benefit from a recent surge of corporate support for community work. the Stride-Rite program is in its fourth year. The Echoing Green program, which gives up to nine grants of $15,000 to students from seven colleges, is in its second.

These sources of funding provide an opportunity and a structure for students who want to continue working in public service, according to Johnson, who is also PBH's executive secretary.

Johnson says that students develop a long-term commitment to community work after they have has a positive experience helping someone requiring assistance.

The key is having "direct intimate contact with people in need," according to Johnson. "This provides a cathartic relationship with mutual gain."

Stride-Rite winner Joseph W. Secondine '92 agrees with Johnson's observation. "Like a lot of other people involved with PBH, I got draw into it slowly," says Secondine, who chaired the Committee on the Homeless and directed the Native American Youth Enrichment Program.

Public service went from being "a part of what I do to what I want to do for the rest of my life," he says.

With his grant, Secondine will spend next year working with the North American Indian Center of Boston to create an adult education program, which will include SAT and GED preparation, reading classes for working parents, and drop-in hours for assistance with resumes and job applications.