Honors Link

During the summer of 2015, I embarked on a service trip that gave me the experience of a lifetime. Although it was only eight days in total, participating in this service trip taught me more valuable knowledge than I could have ever gained in a whole term of classes. With the help of the  Honors College, I was able to be part of Oregon State’s Global Medical Brigade to Nicaragua. During the 2014-15 school year, our club of 31 students conducted weekly meetings, organized fundraisers, and collected all the essential medical supplies we would need in order to effectively serve their community. Along with fundraising to collect these supplies, each student also had to pay for their own travel expenses. Thanks to the funds the HC provided me, I was capable of completing the payments in order to participate in this valuable journey. On June 14th, our group embarked on our adventure, carrying all of the collected supplies with us into the country.

The first half of the trip was dedicated to setting up a medical clinic in the heart of a rural community and providing the inhabitants with many different forms of health care. We were able to provide our patients with physician diagnoses, dental assistance, and access to pharmaceuticals, gynecological care, and preventative care/education for all ages over the entire three days. While working side-by-side with Nicaraguan physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, we were able to serve almost 1,400 patients in those three days alone, setting a record among the previous brigades in that area.

After such a successful medical brigade we were all eager to start our next endeavor; the next three days were devoted to a public health project. We split our group between two larger homes in the middle of the community, in which we conducted home improvements that were essential for the health of the families. In just two of the three available days, we helped lay concrete flooring inside and around the homes, and built sewage/sanitation stations (toilets, sinks and showers) for each home.

Over the eight days we managed to bring smiles to many faces and hopefully revitalize the lives of many. I am at least certain that it rekindled my passion for the health care field, and more importantly, my enthusiasm for people. I learned not only about how to interact with those receiving health care, but also about many, much more important aspects of life. I gained a new appreciation for what I have been blessed with in life. I was shown the importance of friendship, communication, respect, professionalism, diversity, and gratitude. I have never seen another person light up as much as our patients did just from receiving a simple smile. I could never express how eye-opening and incredible this experience was, and I am certain I will do whatever I can to participate in similar experiences again in the future.