GW is the No. 1 mid-sized school for Peace Corps volunteer recruitment, the Peace Corps announced Thursday.

Forty-three GW graduates volunteered for the Peace Corps in 2015, the service said. This is the third straight year the number of volunteers has grown.

GW ranked No. 3 for medium-sized schools last year, a one-spot increase from 2014. The University has been ranked No. 1 in its category for Peace Corps volunteers for six of the last 10 years, according to a release.

University President Steven Knapp said during a media call Thursday that GW attracts service minded-leaders largely because of its D.C. location.

“We tend to attract students here who want to make a difference,” Knapp said. “We often say they have a front row seat to history.”

More than 1,100 alumni have served in the Peace Corps since the service’s creation in 1961, Knapp said.

“We look forward to continuing to create a generation of citizen leaders and we are very glad and proud about our relationship with the Peace Corps,” Knapp said.

GW’s peer institution American University ranked second on the list with 42 graduates who volunteered. Howard and Georgetown universities also ranked in the top 15 for medium-sized schools, defined as colleges or universities with between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduate students, the release said.

The Peace Corps simplified its application process two years ago, making the program more selective.

Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said during the call that volunteers overseas are making a lasting impact on others’ lives and on their own lives.

“Each of them will return home to the United States with an incredible story to tell,” Hessler-Radelet said.