“It was so exiting,” Hunt said, a human biology postbaccalaureate student and Pease Corps recruiter at MSU.

Experiences such as that likely have been repeated during the past few decades. The Peace Corps placed MSU as No. 7, up from No. 9 last year, on its list for the top colleges producing volunteers. Ninety alumni currently are serving as volunteers throughout the world.

“MSU is a university that has a significant concentration of students who have international global interests related to global development,” said Robert Glew, director of MSU’s Center for Advanced Study of International Development.

The University of Colorado Boulder ranked No. 1 with 112 undergraduate volunteers. The University of Michigan ranked No. 5 with 97 participants and the University of Oregon rounded out the top 10.

Volunteers typically live and work in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and are paid an allowance that covers basic living expenses, Glew said.

“(Volunteering) provides a forum and allows students to apply their skills in a real-life context,” he said.When the children in Niger started washing their hands, Hunt said the skills she learned in college came full circle. Hunt volunteered in Africa from 2007 to 2010 and said teaching the children the basic skills gave her a new perspective on improving the health of children.

She entered MSU as a history student, but now wishes to go to medical school.

“(Peace Corps is) especially for people who are adventurous and want to experience new cultures,” Hunt said. “It’s for everybody for all majors.”If a student is interested in learning about the program, Glew said they can visit the Peace Corp office in Room 202 of the International Center.

Christine Torres, a Peace Corps spokeswoman at the corps’ Chicago office, said in an email that MSU’s jump in rank shows commitment on behalf of university officials.

“To have so many graduates and (alumni) entering Peace Corps service year after year is proof of that,” she said.