Last month, our three university scholarship students began their 2020 school year. All of them are up to amazing things, and we asked them to share some of their experiences from their last semester and what they are looking forward to this academic year.
Stephanie: Volunteering at a Health Centre
Stephanie has just entered her fourth year of medicine studies in Honduras. As she gets deeper into her field, she has started having more practical opportunities alongside her clases. Among them: volunteering at a health centre!
“The best experience of last trimester for me was having the opportunity to participate in the activities of the health centre as part of my health prevention class, since this allowed me to learn more about the primary health procedures given to patients,” she explained. “The class consisted of going to a health centre in the mornings, and having class in the afternoon. I had to go to the El Progreso health centre, where I rotated through each area and acquired a lot of practical knowledge. I learned to take blood pressure, give vaccinations, give injections, remove stitches, and heal wounds.”
After this experience, Stephanie says she learned to see the needs of her country’s health system in a whole new light, especially for low-income people who don’t have the resources to go to a private clinic or hospital.
“Having been able to contribute a little by helping attend these patients, I felt fortunate to be studying medicine,” she says. She is excited to be having more practical learning opportunities as she continues her studies.
Tania: Making Isometric Figures
Last semester was what is called an “intensive period” at Tania’s university, meaning students only take two subjects but have a lot more class time and go more into depth. Tania took Calculus and Drawing II – a challenging combination!
Talking about her Drawing II class, she says: “the best part was making an isometric figure with plasticine, because it was with precise measurements and was quite difficult, but we all managed in the end.”
This photo is from the final presentations of their work.
Javier: Presenting a Group Programming Project
Last semester, Javier’s favourite class was Object-Oriented Programming, part of his computer science track, but he also took classes in data structure, environmental ecology, calculus and english.
“My favourite part of last semester were the final projects in all of my classes,” Javier says, “because you have to work as a team. In my programming class it was a more difficult project and took a long time to make it as good as possible. On the final day we also had to defend our project in front of the class.”
Here is Javier presenting his final programming project along with his team.
These students are all first-generation high school graduates, not to mention being the first in there families to go on to university. Watching them grow as learners and leaders, continuing to take on challenges in their studies and beyond, is both encouraging and inspiring.
You can read more about our scholarship programme and how you can be a part of supporting more high-potential young people in Honduras in gaining access to these opportunities here.
educate. 