COLUMBUS -- The Peace Corps holds a special place in Lynn Staigers’ heart.  Nearly 25 years ago, her parents met while her father was a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador and her mother a native Salvadoran.

After graduation this June, Staiger, an international relations major, will follow in her father’s footsteps by becoming a volunteer in Guatemala, a neighboring country of El Salvador.  She is one of 30 members of Ohio State University’s class of 2001 who will join the Peace Corps this summer.

Staiger and her father will join several hundred returned and departing volunteers who will gather at Ohio State on Friday (5/4) to celebrate the Peace Corps 40^th anniversary.

Returned volunteers will carry host-country flags across the Oval in the Parade of Nations, led by Gov. Bob Taft, a former volunteer in Tanzania (1963-65).  The colorful parade will leave the Wexner Center, 1871 N. High St., at 11:30 a.m. and will end at the Frank W. Hall Black Cultural Center, 153 W. 12^th Ave. 

Other events include:

• Noon to 1 p.m. -- Acting Peace Corps Director Charles Baquet III (pron: Buh-KAY) will join Taft at the Hale Center to talk about their experiences and the importance of the Peace Corps in “Peace Corps’ 40^th Anniversary: Accomplishments and New Initiatives.”
  
• 5 to 6:30 p.m. -- Future and returned volunteers will be honored at a reception at the Faculty Club, 181 S. Oval Mall.
  
  Editors’ Note:  Since its inception in 1961, more than 1,200 Ohio State alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers.  Currently, there are 55 Ohio State alumni serving, and 30 more Buckeyes will join their ranks this summer.  There also are at least 36 current Ohio State faculty and staff members who have served overseas as Peace Corps volunteers.
  

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(LO)