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Peace Corps Names UMD a Top 10 Volunteer-Producing School

By Maryland Today Staff

The University of Maryland ranked No. 10 among large schools on the Peace Corps’ list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2019. There are 55 Terps currently volunteering in countries around the world.

The university jumped six spots from its No. 16 ranking in 2018.

“We have seen time and again that the colleges and universities that produce the most Peace Corps volunteers focus on cultivating global citizens in addition to promoting scholarship,” said Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen, who earned her doctorate from UMD in 1979. “I am proud that so many graduates of these esteemed institutions leverage their educations to make the world a better place. They bring critical skills to communities around the world and gain hands-on, life-changing experience along the way.”

Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, more than 1,280 Terps have served abroad as volunteers. Among them is Christine Thinn’15, M.P.H. ’17, a community health education volunteer serving in Cambodia

“During my travels with the UMD Alternative Breaks program, I firsthand experienced volunteering abroad. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience because I was not only helping people, I was also doing the work I am passionate about,” she said. “This encouraged me to look for long-term volunteer programs such as the Peace Corps.”

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing colleges and universities annually according to the size of the student body. View the complete 2019 rankings of the top 25 schools in each category here, and find an interactive map that shows where alumni from each college and university are serving here.

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