Gainesville, FL (3/2/2020) - Peace Corps announced last week that the University of Florida ranked No. 2 among large schools on the agency’s list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. There are 70 Gators currently volunteering in countries around the world.
The University of Florida has consistently ranked in the top 10 for past five years. This year UF made a significant jump to the No. 2 spot after being ranked No. 9 in 2019.
Amanda Brinton, UF Campus Peace Corps Recruiter, became part of the UF International Center’s team in August 2019. Since then, she has put time and effort to promote Peace Corps opportunities on UF campus and the community at large. From 2012-2014, Amanda served in the U.S. Peace Corps in an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon where she led and assisted with projects primarily focusing on recycling, accessibility to potable water, and environmental education in the schools. During her time in the Peace Corps, Amanda’s professional focus shifted from tropical forestry and indigenous land tenure rights to solid waste management and recycling in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The UF Peace Corps Office is located in Room 154 at the International Center on the first floor of the HUB. Amanda holds office hours Wednesdays from 2-3pm and Thursdays from 12-1:30pm. For more information about UF Peace Corps and to find out what makes a competitive applicant, please visit here or contact Amanda at peacecorps@ufic.ufl.edu
Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, over 1,460 alumni from UF have served abroad as Peace Corps volunteers. Additionally, the state of Florida ranks No. 5 among states with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers. There are 341 volunteers from the Sunshine State currently serving worldwide and over 8,580 Floridians have served in the Peace Corps since it was founded.
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. View the complete 2020 rankings of the top 25 schools in each category here.