Whitties join Peace Corps in impressive numbers

Whitman ranks among the Peace Corps' 2017 list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities, coming in 22nd among small schools whose graduates go on to serve with the humanitarian organization. Nine Whitman alumni currently volunteer worldwide.

Katie Richards '11 served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal from 2011 to 2014 as an agriculture extension agent and then as a nutrition capacity building coordinator. Richards, who majored in biology, says Whitman develops skills ideal for the Peace Corps mission.

"Professors encourage critical thinking and curiosity, and they value diversity and acceptance across the board. With the Whitman perspective, graduates will thrive in another culture and work tirelessly to serve their communities as Peace Corps volunteers."

For the past several years, Richards has been a Peace Corps staffer as a program specialist in nutrition and ethnographic research.

Since the Peace Corps' founding in 1961, 326 Whitman alumni have answered its call for international outreach. Whitman last made the list of excellence in 2013.

View the complete 2017 rankings of the top 25 schools.