Hearts and Minds Expanding
My 21 year old daughter Abby and a few of her fellow senior nursing/pharmacy students and their professors are in the midst of a three week medical and cultural trip to the Southeast Asia nation of Cambodia. I am so proud of all of these outstanding young people and their mentors.
It is a great pleasure to read from their trip blog and experience their adventure first hand http://forum.belmont.edu/cambodia/
For many of these students it is their first international adventure and their first visit to Southeast Asia. You can tell from each post of their trip blog that hearts and minds are expanding. These students will never be the same. I suspect they will view healthcare provision in a deeper way for the rest of their career. In addition, each of these students has fallen in love with the people of Cambodia. The smiles, love and appreciation bestowed upon them by the lovely people of this enchanted nation has eternally blessed them.
For a nation that endured one of history’s worst-ever genocides, the nation appears to have an indefinable resilience. The cross-cultural experience that this team of students is having as they serve others is the greatest act of diplomacy. The expanding hearts and minds of 21 year old college students can do more for international relations, healing and understanding than any treaty or national leader ever could.
I am proud of this group and hope that their brief experience in Cambodia will yield stronger and more compassionate nurses and pharmacists in the years to come. This dad is a more fulfilled father knowing that I am sending my own into the world to serve, love and heal!