As one of the driving forces behind the Peace Corps, Sen. Wooford is one of Queen Noor’s biggest heroes.

Question: What impact has Sen. Harris Wooford had on the cause of service?

Queen Noor: Senator Wofford has to be one of my biggest heroes. Sargent Shriver and Senator Wofford were the driving force behind an institution, and more than that, a grand idea, the Peace Corps that inspired me in so many of my generation to understand that we could make meaningful contributions through public service, and that those contributions could have an impact on the larger world.  I grew up as an Arab-American already feeling connected to a larger world. The Peace Corps and so much of what has grown out of it gave me the ability… it really motivated me and inspired me in everything that I have sought to achieve in my life since. And, as I have said on a number of occasions, the ideals and the values and the mission of the Peace Corps and of the spirit behind it really is what first drew King Hussein and myself together as we found common ground, having grown up in completely different worlds. We found common ground through this concept of public service and joined our lives together to carry on. I feel that I am a Peace Corps volunteer to this day and will continue to be and consider every Peace Corps volunteer a sister and a brother and a hero.