As the Peace Corps celebrates its 45th anniversary, it recognized the University's history as a consistent supporter and supplier of volunteers during a panel discussion and Rotunda dinner yesterday.
This year, the University is ranked as the number-one supplier of Peace Corps volunteers among mid-sized colleges and universities for the fifth year in a row.
According to Heather L. Lee, recruitment coordinator for the Peace Corps' Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, 836 University graduates have served in the Peace Corps since its founding in 1961, 400 of whom served in the last five years alone.
Lee attributed University students' interest in serving to a variety of factors.
"The fact that U.Va. is such a service-oriented campus has been a large part of why students want to serve," Lee said.
Lee also cited an interest in the international component of the program as an incentive to serve.
Lee said the fact that half of all University volunteers have served since 2001 reveals an increased interest in service unique to the University.
"There has to have been a shift on campus," Lee said. "Once there's interest, it really compounds."
Matt Hural, University Peace Corps recruiter and first-year Architecture graduate student, said service organizations such as Madison House and APO service fraternity and current events have helped foster students' increased interest in service.
"The events of the last five years have increased everyone's awareness of [what's happening in] the world," Hural said, adding that students are now able to view the United States as a "global puzzle piece."
During the afternoon, a panel of University graduates and former Peace Corps volunteers shared their experiences with students. While panelists' experiences differed in many respects, panelists agreed they had all benefited greatly from their volunteer work.
Beyond developing leadership skills and mastering a foreign language, service allows one to learn more about another culture, said University alumnus Chad Freckman, who volunteered in West Africa.
"Whatever business you go into, you need those cultural sensitivities," Freckman said.
President John T. Casteen, III addressed former Peace Corps volunteers at the Rotunda and highlighted the Peace Corps's correlation to education.
"The Peace Corps is education put to work," he said. "It is a reflection of what we attempt to learn and teach in the classroom."
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