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Jordan said the most rewarding part of her experience was, “figuring out how to merge different ideas -such as students with different majors in the states and diverse Panamanian community members. We found that although from different backgrounds, we had more similarities than differences and therefore it was easy and fun to work together.”

“Global Brigades is a good way to explore if you want to do pre-med,” said Jarren Santos ’17, one of the trip’s participants. “There were a lot of people who have the intent of doing pre-med, but maybe during the trip they really enjoyed working in the pharmacy that they had available there or maybe they liked shadowing the dentists there. We did this thing called a hybrid brigade where we not only shadow medical physicians, but we do the public health portion where you help build a family’s home and help educate smaller communities about hygiene and preventative measures.”

When asked, “why do you go on brigades?” Sumida replies, “I participate on brigades because I am passionate about improving health and economic development globally. The holistic approach Global Brigades takes when collaborating with communities has always resonated with me. The volunteers and community members I have met through participating on brigades have also created some of the most genuine and uplifting relationships I have ever developed in my life.”

Global Brigades model includes a holistic view, so not only medical and public health come into play. There are things to offer engineers, business majors, even art students,” said Srour, a pre-med anthropology major. “Global Brigade doesn’t discriminate. If you are looking for an eye-opening experience and willing to work hard, please contact us because I can promise you that you’ll find something in Global Brigades you didn’t even know existed.”

The organization has been selling grilled cheese since Fall 2013, said Kasey Burchett, chairperson of the organization. It sets up shop during the Fall Semester on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m, when there is heavy foot traffic in the Village. Each brigade takes turns selling the sandwiches to raise money for their specific section…“People that are intoxicated spend a lot more money on food, so it’s a really good sale for us,” Petricevic said. “It is a lot of fun. We all really have a good time.”

Brown’s Global Brigades organized Saturday night’s event to help fund the group’s Winter Medical Trip to Honduras. Lanpher, a member of the group’s executive board, said the board was inspired by the riff-off in “Pitch Perfect” while brainstorming fundraising ideas at a meeting.”  “It’s a very expensive trip,” she said. Besides flight and program costs, much of the trip’s expenses come from the cost of medications, she added.

Members of the Global Medical Brigades learned how to take blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate in preparation for skills needed on a service trip to Nicaragua this coming August. In addition, they enhanced their knowledge of medical terminology and medical abbreviations by playing jeopardy with the DPT and PA student volunteers.

The little things we take for granted can impact less fortunate people and brighten their whole day. Being a volunteer and giving back to people all over the world in this manner is a rare opportunity, and being able to partake in this trip for a good cause taught Shruti and her friends so much.

More than 40 students from Penn State Hershey’s chapter of the Global Medical Brigades traveled to Yaviza, Panama to implement sustainable health programs and educate the community. As the largest student-led social responsibility movement in the world, the mission of the National Global Brigades is to enable volunteers to assist under-resourced communities and work together towards a more equal planet. “It truly felt like we were a small part of a large-scale continued effort to make an impact,” said Sarayna Schock, a student in the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine who attended the brigade.

It happens every spring: Hundreds of U-M students trade the traditional spring break sun-fun experience for service or career-related activities organized by schools and units. Students learn more about their field and the working world outside the classroom.