@@http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zaPSEkUuA98J:multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/schools2012.pdf+top+peace+corps+colleges&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a@@When Eugene native Hannah Klausman@@http://career.uoregon.edu/about/programs/peace-corps@@ graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in international relations, she was unsure of where she wanted to go next in life.
“I was kind of still deciding what I wanted to do,” Klausman said. “I came across the Peace Corps and realized it was an all-expenses-paid trip around the world.”
From there, Klausman, who is currently working on her master’s in community and regional planning@@http://pppm.uoregon.edu/grad/crp@@ at the University, submitted her application and departed for Mongolia for 27 months to work as an educator for elementary and high school students.
“It was really cool and a little frightening since I knew basically nothing about Mongolia, “she said. “I didn’t speak the language, and I’d never taught formally in a classroom setting.”
Klausman is one of over 9,000 volunteers who join the Peace Corps annually and over 200,000 who have served since its inception in 1961.@@http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/fiftieth/timeline.html@@
According to the Peace Corps’ top college rankings released last week, the University ranks 10th in the number of undergraduates serving abroad. The University has been in the top 20 since 2003 but jumped nine spots this year to reach number 10 with 79 undergraduates serving abroad.@@https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rQRtSwxzAFkJ:multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/schools2011.pdf+top+peace+corps+colleges+2011&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgmeGT8mPlzsiBBw4rRvP1ocX4pkNpk5YlgvCl2J3RpXyClV6LzEuf_jG9v4MtsJ05_C4oAHBJujDiEflUiMpwhxawWyLffwFh5pJ67ukKlVceHp2DZMOdKQ1k7pdLPASJD_q0b&sig=AHIEtbQ7JJHz_9sYupsJUFBCoFKdn3MpCg@@
“The University of Oregon is always a top place in college for the Peace Corps,” said Peace Corps spokeswoman Melanie Forthun@@http://www.dailycal.org/2012/01/25/cal-ranked-ninth-in-number-of-peace-corps-volunteers/@@. “They’re consistently a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers, which we’re very proud of.”
Forthun said the University shares several values with the Peace Corps, which she believes explains why the University continues to churn out participants.
“We see many people being very globally minded, sustainability focused and having a commitment to service,” Forthun said. “Those values align perfectly with the goals and mission of the Peace Corps.”
Klausman added that the current economic situation in the United States and the efforts of President Obama have also made the Peace Corps an ideal option after graduation.
As part of her responsibilities as the Peace Corps representative for the University, Klausman holds monthly forums for students to answer their questions about the organization. She highly encourages any interested students to go to Gerlinger Hall room 248 on Thursday, Feb. 2, for an informational seminar.@@http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=meet.regrec.event&eventid=99639@@
“I absolutely loved my experience. It was crazy and extremely challenging,” Klausman said. “It really reprioritizes how you view life. You find out that once you start trying, you can do almost everything.”