AU ranked 12th among medium-sized U.S. universities whose graduates joined the Peace Corps last year when 39 AU alumni served.
"[AU students'] education underscores the importance of relating to the world, and they volunteer for many activities. Peace Corps, then, is a natural avenue," said Robert Pastor, vice president of International Affairs at AU and a former Peace Corps volunteer.
According to Stahl, many professors have served in the Peace Corps.
"These are adventuresome people who really have a deep commitment to cross-cultural communication," she said.
Kylee Burgess, a member of the Class of 2005 and Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Mali, said her reason for joining the organization was because she wanted to work in development.
"Most of my AU friends didn't understand why I wanted to spend my next two years in Africa eating with my hands and peeing in a very smelly hole in the ground," she said in an e-mail.
While working for the Peace Corps, volunteers must adjust to different living conditions.
"It's hard to eat with my hands out of the same bowl as a sick child knowing that I too will become sick," said Burgess.
Burgess wrote that the Mali society was welcoming, but "I think they don't understand exactly what I'm here to do."
Lindsay Hayek, a member of the Class of 2005, is part of a rural community health program focusing on HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.
"It has been an amazing experience so far but really tests your mentality and emotions," she said in an email.
Hayek volunteered because "seeing the poverty and difficulties that others have really made me realize that I needed to do something to help," she said.
Hayek wrote that her six months of service have been hard, but "when you teach someone how to protect themselves or go with someone to get tested [for HIV/AIDS], it makes all those bad days worthwhile."
Protecting women from HIV/AIDS is difficult because women can not make their husbands wear condoms, but men are allowed to have multiple wives, which contributes to spreading the virus. Women are oppressed, according to Hayek. "That has been difficult for me because I have to respect their culture," she said.
Many AU students are multi-lingual and have studied or lived abroad, according to Stahl.
"Studying abroad in college helps open your eyes a bit more to the world - lets you think outside the box more than if you stayed in D.C. for all four years," Hayek said.
"D.C. is a global place. Kids look out to the world once they get here," said Murray Gormly, an employee in the office of International Affairs.
Mark Seaman, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, plans to volunteer in Africa after graduating from AU this semester. He said he wanted to do something different before settling into a 9-5 job.
"I think a lot of AU grads go to the Peace Corps because of the emphasis our school puts on service and being a responsible citizen," he said.
