President John F. Kennedy remains frozen in our nation’s collective consciousness: forever an articulate, smooth-faced 40-something. Some of his ambitions still hang in the air as dreams, yet other aspects of his legacy march unceasingly on—especially as his calls for peace are concerned.

Take his initiation of the Peace Corps, a government agency devised to strengthen international ties through service. More than 60 years after its inception, the Corps not only remains intact but has grown in scope and efficacy. And American University, a school rife with students magnetized by global impact, has played a key role in its success.

Joining the Corps, whether before or after attending AU, is not the only way Eagles stay linked to Kennedy’s vision of peace, though. The president holds a special place in the university’s institutional memory as its 1963 commencement speaker.

During his address, Kennedy prompted listeners to contemplate their “own attitude[s] toward the possibilities of peace,” going on to outline foreign policy goals for unraveling Cold War tensions with the USSR. His words, cresting to form one of the most powerful speeches of his presidency, have transcended his time on earth—pumping on in the chests of Eagles, past and present, impacted by them.

“A Strategy of Peace”: “Increased understanding,” “increased contact”

Poised behind a lectern at the helm of Reeves Field, Kennedy regarded an ocean of graduates rippling across the grass. He flashed a smile while the sun tossed down fistfuls of bright light, a kind of endless confetti. Then, he stated his intention to address “the most important topic on earth: world peace.”

Though a tantalizing concept, how exactly might peace be defined? Kennedy was interested in advancing what he called “genuine peace”—that which “enables men and nations to grow and...build a better life for their children.” Such peace, he acknowledged, should not be conditional but guaranteed for all people, regardless of gender, location, or generation. Attaining it requires considering people’s commonalities before their differences. “No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue,” he said, invoking the USSR.

The most profound articulation in Kennedy’s speech, since labeled “A Strategy of Peace,” was that both nations should strive to end nuclear testing. Although the two were dangerously divided on the issue of communism, he commented on their citizens’ similarities—notably, their “mutual abhorrence of war.”

He chose to believe, even in the face of political and nuclear friction, that “No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” He called on AU graduates to help good prevail—to propel global peace through “increased contact and communication” with other countries.

Joining the Peace Corps, then, was a perfect way to take Kennedy’s charge to heart, and numerous Eagles would turn this national pursuit into a personal one.  

A young senator’s 2 a.m. speech spawns the Peace Corps

If the USSR had a network of citizens going to bat for communism, Kennedy wondered, shouldn’t the US develop a corps committed to democratic ideals? On the presidential campaign trail, he garnered support for this idea while giving a spontaneous speech to college students. An avalanche of letters, communicating citizens’ eagerness to serve, soon followed. He sealed the deal with a March 1961 executive order, cementing the Corps mere weeks after his inauguration.

The Peace Corps’s mission is “to promote world peace and friendship” by advancing core goals, such as providing trained aid where needed and bolstering cross-cultural understanding. US citizens should contribute to enduring change, all while collaborating with and honoring communities abroad.

The benefits of such service should boomerang back toward the States, too, as Returned Peace Corp Volunteers (RPCVs) ideally nurse “a life-long commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today’s global economy.” That’s around a quarter of a million game changers going out, making a difference, then weaving their talents and compassion back into the fabric of their home country.

AU: A destination for budding and returned volunteers

AU’s storied relationship with the Peace Corps dates back more than half a century to 1962, one year before JFK delivered his electrifying address. Dr. Ernest S. Griffith, then dean of the School of International Service, nursed this early partnership. The alignment proved natural, given SIS’s focus on environmental stewardship, human rights, and social justice. And when it comes to readying students for the Corps, AU sits high up on the list, enjoying a second-place ranking of accepted volunteers for medium-sized universities and graduate institutions.

The university’s Peace Corps Prep Program—complete with resources and mentorship opportunities—is a certificate program, offered in tandem with SIS’s International Studies BA. While the program cannot ensure placement upon graduation, it strengthens students’ knowledge in areas prioritized by the Corps and helps them find their niche in the quest for global peace. Students learn how to approach world problems in all their complexity, and they accumulate leadership experience, foreign language skills, and volunteer hours.

Peace Corps Prep “gets students thinking about...Peace Corps and service throughout their college career[s],” says professor and program coordinator Dr. Scott Freeman. A web of connections has woven itself across campus, indicative of AU’s “really strong history and relationship with the Peace Corps.” Dr. Freeman gestures to the Peace Corps Community Archive. There’s also an audio story bank, in which RPCVs share insights from their time spent serving everywhere from Cambodia and Colombia to Kosovo and the Kyrgyz Republic.

John Charles, a career advisor who has supported SIS undergraduates for nearly two decades, credits the Career Center for the strength of this relationship, as well. “We often have meetings with the Peace Corps representative who handles American, ...and that helps us learn about latest developments in the process,” he says. Dr. Freeman also nods to the number of faculty who were PCVs, a count that includes himself and Charles. “There are just a lot of ways that Peace Corps is in and around the university”—including in graduate spaces.

Beyond positioning undergraduate students to take on international service work, AU also invites RPCVs to attend graduate school through the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program. Created in the mid-’80s, the fellowship aims to build “a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.” At AU, students engage with the local community—serving at nonprofits, schools, and more—while studying at SIS under scholarship. The program not only advances peace in hyperlocal contexts, but it encourages returning volunteers to put skills they gained abroad into action anew.

The pool of people who pursue Peace Corps Prep is diverse, Dr. Freeman says, so the certificate is flexible. Similarly, Charles notes how research illuminated that “there’s no one type of person who succeeds” in the Corps. Though citizens with a wide range of backgrounds and interests serve, Charles admits that some common traits do rise to the surface after years of advising applicants. Often, they express a heart for service, alongside a thirst for adventure.

Plus, there is one shared outcome for each individual who completes their term of service: personal development. For RPCVs, “there’s that universal [sense that], ‘Oh my gosh—I learned so much about myself,’” Charles says. “‘I grew, I challenged myself, and I’m not the same person.’”

“My role in promoting peace”: Student testimonials

More than a thousand Eagles have answered Kennedy’s decades-old call to rise up in the name of peace by joining the Corps. To gain a glimpse into the intimate reality of these experiences, Alumni Relations asked four Coverdell Fellows, “How did you work to advance peace through the Peace Corps?”

Paige Bradshaw, SIS/MA ’23: Madagascar

“Navigating the complexities of being a guest within the community in which I lived during my time in Madagascar is tantamount to how I interpret the intricacies of how conflict and peace emerge as I study international development at AU. Communities change over time, and collaboration to solve complex issues must come from a place of ongoing mutual understanding and respect which I hope to continue to cultivate in my career.”

Stephen Demarais, SIS/MA ’21: Honduras

“I served in...one of the poorest municipalities in Honduras at a time when the country had the highest per capita murder rate in the world...I worked with local government and community leaders to access funding from the national government and international donors to set up a computer lab in the local school, establish a women’s business cooperative, and grow the local microlending organization. These community-driven, sustainable development initiatives advanced peace by addressing the structural violence of excluding marginalized groups, including women and the rural poor, from the formal business sector.”

Ra'naa Iqbal, SIS/MA ’23: Cameroon

“As an Education Extension Volunteer, I worked to advance peace as an educator in a secondary school and was constantly involved in cross-cultural understanding. The students always asked me plenty of questions regarding the United States, and I was always asking them questions about Cameroon. Through these exchanges, we [cultivate] peace and build friendships as volunteers—not only with our students, but with community members, university students, police officers, and many more.”

Jonathan Levinson, SIS/MA ’22: Zambia

“I was an agriculture and economic development volunteer in Northwest Zambia. For the past several years, Northwest province has faced a growing number of migrants from Zambia’s southern province, which is experiencing heavy desertification and food shortages due to eroded soils, deforestation, lack of rainfall, and general climate change. Tonga migrants would move in and often begin cutting down trees en masse to clear land for new farms. This upset locals who were worried that the local forests, which were important for beekeeping [and] income, were at risk...I helped to mediate where appropriate, as well as teach incoming migrants about sustainable agricultural techniques to help prevent harmful practices from being used in the future, which soothed some hostilities.”

Sowing the seeds of peace across generations

Sixty years ago this month, Kennedy stood on AU’s campus, the presidential seal emblazoned on a podium beneath him. “We shall...do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just,” he bellowed through the microphone.

In the decades since, a throng of Eagles have risen to stand alongside Kennedy. And while his Peace Corps has undoubtedly been fine-tuned since its founding, new volunteers—carrying fresh aspirations and perspectives with them—will continue sculpting it into a more ideal and effective agency.

“Confident and unafraid, we labor on—not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace,” Kennedy concluded. Robed and sweating students leapt to their feet, drowning out the summer heat with showers of applause. A new future, blindingly bright, blazed on the horizon.