Dominican Republic Experience Essay

Reflection
My initial motivation behind going to the Dominican Republic was to provide service to those in need. This derives from when I interned for a Family Medicine Doctor by the name of Johnnie Cook M.D. When I interned with him, he left on multiple service trips to third world countries and provided free healthcare to the people there. Since then, my primary goal was to become a doctor and be like Dr. Cook by going on medical service trips and helping people in need. While in the Dominican Republic, I was able to accomplish this goal and so much more. My experiences in the Dominican Republic were remarkable, and I had the opportunity to meet many amazing people and learn from them. I also got to see firsthand what the conditions these people were living in. These experiences solidified my dream to become a doctor and travel to third-world countries to help more people.
To prepare for my service trip to the Dominican Republic, I did many crowd funding events to help me raise the money to pay for the travel expenses and for the gear I would need. I also had to
Southern Utah University’s EDGE Program is a major contributor in my service project. The EDGE Program stands for Education Designed to Give Experience. My service trip to the Dominican Republic helped me gain firsthand experience in the medical field and with patients. This helped me solidify my dream of becoming a doctor and to develop interpersonal skills that will assist me in my career endeavors. I believe that Southern Utah University developed the EDGE Program to encourage students to learn independently outside of a classroom setting. By exploring outside of our normal boundaries, we are able to learn more about the field we are studying through experience. Furthermore, it allows us to refine our skills we developed in classrooms and apply them to the outside