Student Testimonials: Kevin Àlvarez

State University of New York at Geneseo student Kevin Àlvarez, a Junior Pre-Physical Therapy and Spanish major, traveled to El Sauce, Nicaragua, in June 2013 to participate in the university's Service Learning class. Reflecting on his experience, Kevin wrote the following:

Kevin Àlvarez, center, working on Enlace Project's rural health care campaign.

It's hard to put into words the experience I had in Nicaragua and the amount of knowledge that I obtained within only a month. Nicaragua was life changing, eye-opening, and of course a lot fun. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet so many people and connect with them during my sojourn in this culturally and historically rich land. My experience consisted of staying with a host family and mutually sharing each other's culture. This sharing revolved around the topics of family, religion, politics, music, economy and a myriad of others. Aside from the cultural exchange, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to get some hands-on experience volunteering in a rural health post and the local hospital with the very little knowledge I had about health care. I observed and shadowed nurses and doctors and was able to see what their responsibilities consisted of on an almost daily basis. Living in this amazing country for one month truly put my life into perspective by allowing me to step out of my bubble and visit what I considered "the unknown". Studying abroad, learning, and meeting new souls is an experience that will stay in your mind and soul for the rest of your life and for me, Nicaragua was that experience.