Lessons of global citizenship, delivered on location

Tori Stoddard focused her academics on science at San Diego State University. But after seven weeks on a Mundt Peace Fellowship in South Africa this past summer, the senior biology major began exploring a different path.

Stoddard cherished hearing the life stories of colleagues from across the globe at the penguin rehabilitation hospital where she interned. She listened intently to the matriarch of her home-stay family, said to be the first South African black woman playwright published outside of the country.    

It reinforced an idea in Stoddard to pursue a career combining science and storytelling.

“Coming back, I started to reflect on that more,” she said. “I tried to write articles and put together photos from over there. I want to keep trying to build the experience into my future career.”

The $2,500 Mundt Peace Fellowships are awarded through a program associated with the Peace Corps. The application window for next year’s internships in Panama is open through Jan. 5, 2026. Additional information can be found online.

In addition to work, Mundt Peace Fellows live with host families, getting firsthand exposure to daily life in cultures outside of the mainstream study abroad destinations.

Launched in 2019, the Mundt fellowship program began in Cambodia. Over the last few years, Mundt Peace Fellows have lived and worked in Cape Town, South Africa, experiencing a society grappling with the aftermath of apartheid and lingering challenges around inequality, poverty and environmental sustainability.

Next summer in Panama, which sits at  a crossroads of migration, internships are expected at organizations working on environmental conservation, migrant services, human rights, child welfare, humanitarian aid and cultural preservation.

“Through the Mundt Peace Fellowship, education abroad becomes more than a journey across borders,  becomes a journey of the mind, fostering critical consciousness and shaping the next generation of thoughtful, engaged scholars,” said Cristina Alfaro, SDSU associate vice president of International Affairs.

Peaceful world

The program honors the legacy of William R. “Will” Mundt, a longtime San Diego resident, minister and real estate businessperson known for community involvement and commitment to social justice. He established the Mundt Peacemakers Fund at the philanthropic San Diego Foundation with the goal of building a more peaceful world.

“Will wanted people to see how wide the world was, not just the tourist places but developing countries, and not just to see but also to get their hands dirty and be able to work there,” said Davida Huchel, co-trustee of the Mundt Peacemakers Fund along with Mundt’s son, Andrew.

The latest cohort of Mundt Peace Fellows recently shared their experiences at an SDSU campus roundtable. They described an immersive, authentic and transformative program that transcends conventional learning boundaries through hands-on service-learning internships at humanitarian and social justice non-governmental organizations (NGOs.)

Returning students said the trip was so thoroughly immersive it was difficult to convey to friends and family.

“I didn’t think the way I recounted it did it justice or articulated the nuances of what I was experiencing,” said Tieanna Harris, a senior criminal justice major. “There were so many things happening at the same time. It is very difficult to put into words.”

Mundt Fellows pointed to home-stay families as the anchors of their experience. Each student lives with two different families during their seven weeks in the program.

Lizzie Epps, a senior majoring in international security and conflict resolution and Latin America studies, lived with newlyweds who were first-time home-stay hosts.

“They were nervous. I was nervous, but we ended up making it work,” said Epps. “They really educated me on their culture. Both families were very open about their history and what they experience in their everyday lives. That was very special to me.”

Molly Hendricks, a senior public health major, was eager to learn how NGOs operate globally, particularly in health care. “To see NGOs be such a big part of the system and still be so underfunded; they just don’t have the help that they need.”

Several students commented on the lingering segregation. “When you get to South Africa, you learn really fast what post-apartheid means when people are still living with the effects of it every single day,” said Noor Shatara, an international business major.

Austin Emery, a senior political science major, said the Mundt Peace Fellowship gave him a better understanding of South Africa and of the misconceptions that Americans tend to have regarding Africa overall.

“We learned so many stories that really most people here have no idea about,” he said. “So, I want to continue doing my part to try to reshape the discourse about Africa in a way that is more productive.”