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UC Berkeley Helps Peace Corps Celebrate 50 Year Anniversary

BERKELEY (KCBS) - As the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is especially important for UC Berkeley, which has placed more volunteers in the organization than any other university in the country.

Cal senior Mi-Mi Saunders of Sacramento will be departing in June for Sub-Saharan Africa to teach English.

"I'm really excited to go wherever the Peace Corps feels most comfortable putting me," she said. "I want to go wherever it is that needs my skill set the most."

KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:

At an all-day symposium on Saturday, UC Berkeley alum Jennifer Grieg spoke about how important the two years she spent in the West African nation of Benin was to her.

"We learned what it is to be an American. It's very hard to get that sense of what it is to be an American living in America," said Grieg. "It's a priceless experience."

On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. Since the organization was created, more than 200,000 Americans have worked in 139 host countries around the world.

Cal itself  has placed more than 3,400 alumni in the program.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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