As a Peace Corps volunteer, Mia Reyes BA’23 spent two years living in a village in the Kolda region of Senegal working alongside 18 women who ran a community garden to provide their community with a greater sense of food security. She also worked with the community to bring a solar powered pump and irrigation system to the garden to alleviate the demanding task of pulling from the well to water the garden.
It wasn’t a path Reyes originally mapped out. “Joining the Peace Corps was something I never imagined for myself,” says Reyes, who double-majored in Anthropology and Latin American Studies. “I tend to be an individual that has a hard time asking for help, however, I knew that this was a decision I couldn’t make alone.”
Reyes had previously studied abroad in Senegal and had always been looking for an opportunity to return. Her coursework sharpened her interest in food systems and community health. In her Anthropology and Latin American Studies courses, she researched the complex relationship between people, food systems, and food diversity. In partnership with Professor of Anthropology and Public Health Joyce Millen, Reyes explored the healing power of community gardens for immigrant Latinx communities in the Willamette Valley.
Career Center staff help students marry their passions with their purpose
When Reyes began exploring the Peace Corps, she found a strong support system in Willamette’s Office of Career Development and its Executive Director Anne Lapour who works with students through the Peace Corps recruitment and application process that leads students to the life-changing opportunity, helping them build tailored resumes and to recognize the value in their experiences, no matter how small they may seem.
“The most successful applicants are those that have a very strong understanding of what they can contribute, a very strong desire to contribute that thing, and a very strong ability to navigate another culture,” said Lapour. “When somebody is ready for that work — emotionally, logistically and academically — it comes through.”
Looking back on her experience, Reyes credits her Willamette community with encouraging her to take on this adventure and act of service. “In many ways, I have Anne Lapour, Professor Millen, Professor Peter Wogan and Professor Amadou Fofana to credit for my entry into the Peace Corps. Each and every one of them served as both a mentor and a cheerleader.”
A village, a garden, and a health club
As a Rural Sustainable Agriculture Agent Reyes found many opportunities to contribute to her host community. In addition to her service with the community garden, Reyes also partnered with a neighboring Peace Corps volunteer to begin an after school health club at a nearby primary school. That project, working with students aged 8-12, focused on the intersection of personal health and the environment through art projects, physical education and service work conducted in Pulaar, the local language.
Reyes said she came home with a different measure of success than she expected going into the experience. “I left believing that for me, a successful service meant one filled with an abundance of meaningful friendships and connections. I am endlessly grateful for the people in my host community who showed me true hospitality and compassion, who know far more than I ever will, and who have been the greatest teachers.”
Not Unto Ourselves Alone Are We Born
Reyes is part of a long tradition of Willamette alums. Since the Peace Corps was established in 1961, over 300 alumni have served as volunteers. In 2025, The Peace Corps named Willamette University No.10 among small colleges on the 2025 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list, with 5 alumni volunteering worldwide in 2024. The ranking acknowledges the service of Willamette graduates in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal, and underscores Willamette’s long history with the international service organization.
For Reyes, the connection between Willamette and the Peace Corps was clear. “My time in the Peace Corps was an extension of Willamette’s motto because of the ways in which I was encouraged to responsibly participate in and learn from communities and culture other than my own,” says Reyes, “Both taught me that you will never find yourself alone when you explore and engage with the world by leading with curiosity before judgement.”
