Smith Alumnae Rank High Among Peace Corps Volunteers

With 18 Smith women serving this year in Peace Corps jobs abroad, the college ranks 15th among small-size schools nationwide in producing volunteers for the government agency.

Smith alumnae are currently serving as volunteers in Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mali, Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, Ukraine and Zambia. They work in areas including agriculture, education, environment, health and HIV/AIDS, business development and youth development.

Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1961, 354 Smith alumnae have served. The college consistently ranks among the top 20 schools in producing Peace Corps volunteers.

“Colleges and universities prepare thousands of talented undergraduate and graduate alumni for Peace Corps service every year,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams (volunteer, Dominican Republic, 1967–70). “These alumni go on to serve as Peace Corps volunteers, applying the skills and knowledge they acquired during their studies to promote world peace and friendship and improve the lives of people around the world. Every day, volunteers make countless contributions to projects in agriculture, education, the environment, health and HIV/AIDS education and prevention, small business development, and youth development. I would like to extend my gratitude to all colleges and universities for their continued support of the Peace Corps and public service.”

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools annually according to the size of the student body. Small schools have less than 5,000 undergraduates.

Mount Holyoke College, with 17 Peace Corps volunteers, placed 20th on the small-school list.