For the 13th year, the Peace Corps has ranked the University of Mary Washington among the nation’s top-producing colleges for alumni now serving as Peace Corps volunteers across the globe.
Ranking No. 2 among small schools or institutions, Mary Washington has jumped six spots from its No. 8 ranking last year, with 13 UMW alumni currently volunteering worldwide.
UMW has been included in the top 20 of the Peace Corps’ list of top-producing small schools since 2005. A total of 253 alumni have gone on to serve the 27-month commitment since the program’s inception in 1961.
Now serving in Kedougou, Senegal, in West Africa, Maura Slocum ’16 came to Mary Washington for precisely that reason.
“I read that UMW had such a high number of alumni who go on to serve,” said Slocum, who discovered her passion for providing for others on a mission trip to Guatemala. “The University of Mary Washington was fundamental in my journey to the Peace Corps,” Slocum said. Read more about Slocum’s work in Senegal.
Similarly, current volunteer Sarah Schrock, a 2015 UMW graduate, is stationed in Paraguay. She arrived in the South American country’s department of Alto Parana in December 2016.
Since then, she’s been gearing up, getting accustomed to her temporary home by practicing Guarani, the indigenous language, and cooking with señoras in the kitchen.
Although it is summer in Alto Parana right now, when school begins, Schrock will teach
environmental education and English classes at her community’s request.
One of the many highlights, Schrock said, is enjoying the ice-cold tereré. The Paraguayan iced tea is the perfect treat after a long day in the sun.
Though she has just begun her Peace Corps journey, Schrock has eagerly jumped into new experiences, facing the unfamiliar cultural shift with positivity and excitement, like so many UMW alums have done before her.
“Every day I live outside of my comfort zone, and every day I push myself further and further,” Schrock said. “It’s hard, and unlike any other experience, but the laughs that I’ve shared and the knowledge that I’ve gained in my few months here have been invaluable.”
The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing colleges and universities annually according to the size of each school’s student body. For the full list of top-producing colleges and universities, visit the Top Colleges 2017 list.
