St. Mike’s on select Peace Corps list

College ranks No. 16 among small schools for producing volunteers; 10 Purple Knights currently posted around the globe.

February 26, 2020
By Mark Tarnacki and Peace Corps Publicist Joshua Voda

Washington, D.C. – Peace Corps announced Wednesday that Saint Michael’s College ranked No. 16 among small schools on the agency’s list of top 25 volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. There are 10 Purple Knights currently volunteering in countries around the world.Peace Corps graphic

Saint Michael’s College has appeared on Peace Corps’ top rankings of small schools three of the past five years, most recently in 2019. The college shares this year’s ranking with nine other colleges across the United States.

“These schools are institutions that emphasize being global citizens and service-minded students,” said Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen. “I am excited to know the graduates coming from Peace Corps’ Top Colleges are using their skills to make a positive impact on their communities at home and abroad.”

Jeffrey Trumbower, Saint Michael’s vice president for academic affairs, offered congratulations to faculty and staff behind this latest ranking, emphasizing the success in life and careers that Peace Corps volunteers have even after their time in the Peace Corps.  “Peace Corps is a wonderful training ground for all sorts of careers beyond it,” Trumbower said, “and it is important for prospective students and their families to appreciate the long-term benefits of Saint Michael’s majors and opportunities that lead seamlessly to immediate post-graduate opportunities – programs such as Peace Corps along with Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and Teach for America.”  Tracking of graduates shows that such students not only are able to “do good” in the world with their volunteer assignments, but then typically also go on to “do well” in interesting careers, Trumbower said.

Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, 209 alumni from St. Michael’s College have served abroad as Peace Corps volunteers. On a per capita basis, Vermont ranks No. 2 of the highest volunteer-producing states.

Noah in Jamaica

Noah El-Naboulsi, a 2018 Saint Michael’s alumnus currently serving in Jamaica, seen with some friends.

Noah El-Naboulsi is a 2018 Saint Michael’s alumnus and currently serving in Jamaica, where he works as an environmental management advisor. “My time at Saint Michael’s College expanded my true belief that each person has the ability to positively impact the world through kindness and service to others,” said El-Naboulsi. “During Peace Corps service, I try and focus any development through the lens of relationship building and have a passion for connecting my community members to the natural world—attributes that were largely developed during my time as a St. Mike’s Knight.”

Another 2018 alumna of Saint Michael’s, Kaelyn Carroll, is serving in Paraguay as a community agricultural sciences teacher.  More than just a degree forged from hours in the biology and chemistry labs,” Carroll said, “ St. Mike’s focus on social justice and the importance of community is truly what landed me here in the heart of South America in northern Paraguay.”

Kaelyn Carroll

Kaelyn Carroll, is serving in Paraguay as a community agricultural sciences teacher

“Outside of my education, I know I wouldn’t be here without MOVE (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts), the organization that fueled my passion for service and volunteering, especially through mentoring the wonderful and brilliant kids and young adults in International Outreach,” said Carroll. ” I think about my mentees often, and I use what they have taught me every day with the high school students I work with [in Paraguay].”

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing colleges and universities annually according to the size of the student body. Below, find the top five schools in each category and the number of alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers.  See below the other small schools ranked with Saint Michael’s this year among the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers.

List graphic

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