coyote

I'm a senior, graduating in June. I was recently offered (and plan on accepting) a one year contract as a community organizer. After the year is up, I'd like to either go to grad school or serve in the Peace Corps. I'd prefer doing the Peace Corps first, and then grad school, but, regardless, it will be at least a year between graduating and applying. That being the case, should I ask for professors to write letters of recommendation now and put them on file? My father's a lecturer at a different university and says he does this for students fairly often. Is my dad just a super nice guy, or is this actually a common and accepted practice? If I do end up asking professors this year to write a letter, what would be a good way of phrasing the ask? Would something like the below work? Dear Professor So and So, This is x, I had you for y class. I'm graduating this year and plan on spending at least a year working before applying to grad school. However, since I do plan on applying for grad school within the next couple years, could I ask you to write a letter of recommendation and place it on file?, etc. Thanks so much for any advice!