Foregoing restaurant jobs or summer camps, a group of EMU students will be spending part of their summer studying healthcare in the mountains and cities of Peru. Led by biology professor Kris Schmidt, sophomores Jessie Landis, Kierra Zuercher and Addison Shenk, juniors Haley Barnes, Adam Peachey and Austin Yoder, senior Jared Bergman, and Skylar List will embark on the summer journey.
Students will spend time in several cities to gain experience with the different cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical parts of Peru. Schmidt wants to make the experience a “multi-regional and multi-clinical approach to see global health in context.”
The group will spend two to three weeks in Lima, the coastal capital. They will then spend five days in the jungle in Equitos, a remote island town, accessible by plane or boat. There, they will work on a medical campaign with Campagna Medica measuring statistics in the area with two local universities. Following that will be a week in Machu Picchu, then two weeks in a mountain community called Ayacucho, working in clinics. They’ll be shadowing and working in labs there together, in contrast to Lima, where they will work individually.
Schmidt has had vast experience in Peru and will be leading yet another trip besides this one this summer, as well as the Guatemala/ Peru cross cultural in the spring of 2021. Schmidt has connections all throughout Peru from his time spent there over the years. He has done this specific trip two times before, although this time it will be through the Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship for which Schmidt is on the board. Schmidt wants to focus this trip on what it means to be a healthcare professional and a Mennonite.
“My goal is twofold: number one, I think the opportunity to be transformed is only made possible by creating the right context and environment,” Schmidt said. “My goal as a Mennonite and a person is to do good in this world, to create young people who think about crossing boundaries and who think about social justice issues and inequity, so to be able to put students into those environments is a good goal for us.”
Schmidt’s other goal is to give students valuable experience in the medical field. “It’s also really good for them in terms of getting into medical school and getting a lot of practical experience,” he said. He wants students to be able to make some vocational decisions as well, based on real-life work.
This trip involves students from all over the premedical board. Sophomore Jessie Landis is pre-med, and this experience “just kind of came [to her],” she said. “I had been thinking that this summer I would really love experience in a Spanish-speaking country, ideally in the medical field.” When a friend told Landis about the opportunity, she jumped on it. She is most excited “to be immersed in a Spanish-speaking culture, to get to learn the language better, and to be in the medical field all at the same time,” she said. “I think it’s a really good opportunity.”
Senior Jared Bergman is pre-dental, and a draw for him was being able to complete his cross cultural credits. When he heard about this opportunity, he had his heart set on it. “I’m really interested in gaining a new experience through dentistry that I haven’t had yet,” Bergman said. “I’ve always had [experience] in American-based private practices, so being able to see the dental and medical system of another country will be very interesting. Hopefully that will change and influence my perspective on how I practice eventually.”
Motivations for students to make this trip range from experience in the medical field, to a Spanish-speaking country, to seeing beautiful scenery. But Schmidt’s goal throughout the trip is one thing: “Creating great people for the future.”
