For the second year in a row, Kenyon has been named a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers. With 13 alumni serving in 11 countries around the world, the College ranked third among small schools in a list published by the government agency on April 7.
Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1961 to foster world peace and friendship through community-based development and intercultural understanding, 256 alumni from the College have served abroad as volunteers. Kenyon currently has alumni serving in Belize, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Moldova, North Macedonia, Peru, Senegal and Thailand.
“This honor exemplifies what we mean when we say that we ‘build strong foundations for lives of purpose and consequence.’” said Marne Ausec, the College’s dean for global engagement. “As a liberal arts institution, Kenyon challenges students to foster curiosity, self-reflection, humility and the ability to work through ambiguity and across differences. These skills are put to use in the Peace Corps to help mitigate problems that are complex and nuanced.”
As the U.S. government’s premier international volunteering agency, the Peace Corps has sent close to 250,000 passionate and skilled Americans abroad to 144 countries to collaborate on projects that advance both American and host country priorities.
Laura Stuart Wickstead, a member of the Kenyon Class of 1979, is serving as a community economic development volunteer in North Macedonia. She credited her Kenyon education for preparing her for service.
“My studies in political philosophy, literature and religion resonated with my teenage goal to be a Peace Corps volunteer,” Wickstead said. “We explored questions such as ‘What does it mean to be a good citizen? A good person? What does that look like in a world where there are so many different answers?’ Today, 45 years later, those questions and an openness to the multitude of answers inform the focus of my volunteer work, which is to be useful and of service to the people of the Republic of North Macedonia.”
To help prepare students for opportunities in the Peace Corps, the College offers Peace Corps Prep, a two-year curriculum intended to foster the skills necessary for international development work through classes and experiential learning.
“The Peace Corps Prep program is not just about preparing to serve, it’s about developing the skills and global perspective needed to make a meaningful difference,” said Jacqueline Zubin, associate director for international students and scholars at Kenyon’s Center for Global Engagement and a Peace Corps volunteer who served in China from 2015 to 2017. “Through integrated coursework, the Peace Corps Prep program provides students with opportunities to gain applied experiences and intercultural competencies that will help them during their Peace Corps service.”
Peace Corps Acting Director Richard E. Swarttz said in a statement that the program is grateful to partner with colleges that instill the value of national service in their students. “Peace Corps service is still the toughest job you’ll ever love, and we want Americans of all backgrounds to challenge themselves to grow personally and professionally as a volunteer,” he said.