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Feb. 18, 2015 – The Peace Corps today released its 2015 rankings of the top volunteer-producing colleges and universities across the country. For the second consecutive year, Allegheny College ranks No. 8 among small schools in the number of its alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers.

Allegheny was one of three Pennsylvania institutions included in the 2015 rankings. Dickinson College and Bucknell University also made the Top 10.

Twelve Allegheny alumni are currently serving in Albania, Botswana, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Moldova, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. They work in sectors including agriculture, education, the environment, health, community economic development and youth development.

Courtney Columbus, who graduated from Allegheny in 2011, is in her third year of service as a community environmental development volunteer in the Dominican Republic.

“I am helping to train host country nationals to advocate for the fulfillment of children’s rights and human rights,” she said. “Raising awareness about children’s and human rights in marginalized communities gives their residents empowering knowledge, and allows them to be self-advocates.”

Columbus majored in Environmental Science at Allegheny, with a double minor in Spanish and in Values, Ethics and Social Action.

“My experience at Allegheny College, especially with their study abroad and service-learning opportunities, led me to apply to the Peace Corps,” she said. “My Environmental Science degree taught me to think in systems and see the big picture, and also included coursework on environmental education and third-world environmental problems.”

Alumni from more than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding in 1961, including 200 Allegheny alumni.

Allegheny students are invited to meet with the regional recruiter several times each year when she visits campus as a guest of the Allegheny Gateway, a central location for study and collaboration in which students can access the resources they need to thrive at Allegheny and in their lives after college.

Photo: Courtney Columbus