From Afghanistan to Zambia with 105 countries in between, American University alumni are leaving their marks on the global community.
Since the Peace Corps’ inception in 1961, 751 Eagles have joined the international development agency, propelling AU to no. 7 on the list of all-time volunteer-producing institutions among medium-sized colleges. AU is the only institution in the DC area to make the rankings, released on April 17.
AU is also the top producer of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized colleges and graduate schools for 2023, with 11 and 4, respectively.
“AU’s dedication to the agency’s mission of promoting a better understanding of Americans among the people it serves abroad has been instrumental in our historic return to service in 58 countries,” says Jenn Brown, associate director of volunteer recruitment and selection.
Last year marked the agency’s return to service after the unprecedented evacuation of 7,300 volunteers from 60 countries in March 2020 when the pandemic hit. Today, more than 2,600 volunteers are fanned out around the world, partnering with local community members to cultivate economic opportunity, protect the planet, advance health equity, and more.
The university has enjoyed a close connection with the Peace Corps since its founding. The School of International Service served as an early predeparture training site for volunteers bound for places like Pakistan and the Philippines, and President John F. Kennedy delivered “A Strategy of Peace” at the university’s 1963 commencement—just two years after he established the agency.
“SIS is proud to be part of AU’s Peace Corps success,” Dean Shannon Hader says. “This hasn’t happened by accident—it’s happened through purpose: connected to SIS’s founding charge from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to produce leaders who ‘wage peace,’ enhanced by our Peace Corps Prep program that allows SIS alumni to hit the ground running as volunteers, and extended to all Returned Peace Corps Volunteers through the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program that invites returned volunteers, with all their insights, to join us as graduate students.”
Ginger Knight, SIS/BA ’24, will continue AU’s rich tradition of volunteerism, packing off for Lesotho this fall. A native of Vermont, she has wanted to join the Peace Corps since the ninth grade, when a family friend who directed an AmeriCorps program planted in Knight the seed of service.
“She knew that I wanted to study international relations, and she told me about the Peace Corps and how I could be a cultural ambassador and change lives by sharing knowledge and learning from those around me,” Knight says. “I enjoy helping people and I want to challenge myself and learn from and serve in a new community before going into the workforce.”