Academic Travel Abroad - Greece 2023

Ever since I was little, I have wanted to go into the medical field in some way. While the route to get there has changed a few times along the way, I have never strayed too far from my dream. I am currently a student at Nebraska Methodist College studying in the surgical technology program. Right now, I am in my summer semester and will soon be starting my second year. I will begin my clinical program this fall and graduating in May 2024.

I have always been driven to do something in the medical field, specifically the operating room. This career gives me reassurance that every day, in every surgery, I am consistently making a difference in somebody’s life. Helping people just makes me feel good; plain and simple.

I have recently been given the chance at a once in a lifetime opportunity through my school to travel to Greece this winter. On this trip I will get the chance to tour historic Athens, with an up-close visit to the Parthenon and Acropolis; discover the secrets of Ancient Agora of Athens; explore the site where the Olympic Games originated; encounter the Archaeological Site and the Museum of Delphi, the most famous oracle of the ancient world; and explore Crete, one of Greece’s many islands.

But above all the exploring, the thing I’m most excited about is getting a glimpse into how medicine was practiced in ancient times as well as in Greece today. This part excites me the most because I get the chance to see how far the medical field has advanced since ancient times, and see how Greece does some things differently than we do in the U.S. Because this is a school trip, I will earn 3 credit hours on this 11-day trip while I broaden my understanding of global healthcare and develop a more nuanced approach to studies.

Since I started college in the fall of ’21 I have been balancing my schoolwork and working. But as many of you know, being a college student doesn’t allow you a whole lot of time for work, and when I start clinicals in the fall I will have even less time. Travel expenses for this once in a lifetime trip would be hard for me to come up with on my own. The expenses of this trip will include round-trip land and air transportation, hotel accommodations, tour director and local guides, meals, and admission and passes for the destinations on the itinerary.

I would appreciate any financial support you can give to help me take this once in a lifetime opportunity with some of my fellow classmates. Thank you.