AU ranks as the second-largest source of Peace Corps volunteers for universities of its size in 2015, according to the organization’s newest ranking.
AU is part of the “Medium Colleges & Universities category,” which includes schools with an undergraduate population between 5,000 and 15,000 students. The University was topped only by Western Washington University, which had six more volunteers this year.
The school’s ranking can be attributed to the values shared between the Peace Corps and the students at AU, according to Stephen Angelsmith, graduate admissions and the program coordinator for SIS.
“AU’s culture, service, and study abroad are just a natural fit for the Peace Corps,” Angelsmith said. “Our two missions are very much aligned.”
This year, 41 AU alumni are volunteering with the Peace Corps. AU beat the University of Virginia and George Washington University, both of which had 36 alumni volunteers.
In 2014, AU ranked third in the category, boasting 43 undergraduate alumni volunteers, behind Western Washington University and University of Virginia.
Contributing programs to AU’s high involvement rate are the four Master’s programs that are completed before and after the two-year Peace Corps volunteer experience. Volunteers work toward their Master’s through their Peace Corps involvement and receive up to a six credit reduction to their tuitions.
The School of International Service offers the Peace Corps Master’s International program, which focuses on a curriculum to prepare Peace Corps volunteers as they begin their application process. Of the 16 students enrolled in this Master’s program, 10 are currently completing their two years of volunteer work, according to Angelsmith.
The TESOL Master’s International program, which focuses on preparing educators to teach English to students overseas, also offers a degree and preparation for being abroad. Two recent Master’s International programs in Anthropology and International Teaching and Education program have no participants but are available through the College of Arts and Sciences.
The desire to give back to a community is just as strong as the draw for an international experience for a Peace Corps volunteer, Angelsmith said.
Rose Fishman, a 2013 alumna of the College of Arts and Sciences is a volunteer stationed with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, leading girls clubs for young Ethiopian women. Her involvement with international work intensified after her semester abroad in Rio de Janeiro.
“My work with young girls promoting empowerment and equality has been very fulfilling and something I plan to never stop working on, no matter where I am in the world,” Fishman said in an email.
AU students considering this service opportunity can be connected with graduate students that volunteered in the past through the AU Peace Corps Community.
Rachel Teter, co-president of the AUPCC and a returned Peace Corps volunteer, said AUPCC also connects grad students with the volunteer community as well as hosting different service opportunities each semester.
“You don’t have to be in the Peace Corps,” Teter said. “If you care about international service, you can be part of the AUPCC to learn about the career opportunities available for returned Peace Corps volunteers.”
While many alumni don’t choose to volunteer in the Peace Corps, Angelsmith said they often end up in programs with similar missions.
“The type of work that Peace Corps promotes is very much the type of work that most AU alumni are doing in some capacity,” Angelsmith said. “So many non-PCV alumni are working in law, education, or public health.”
For Teter, who completed her Peace Corps service in 2013 in Panama, said she can use her immersive experience in every job interview she has had since returning.
Teter is currently employed at the Peace Corps headquarters in the D.C.
“There are so many intangible qualities that you need to use as a volunteer that you’ll use over and over in life, whether you work in nonprofit, in government, or in the public sector,” she said.
