This engaged learning experience has impacted my personal development in many profound ways.  I have had an entire semester to reflect back on my experiences with Global Brigades in both Panama and Ghana, and in doing so I have come to a deeper understanding of myself and my personal development in light of Loyola’s mission to “expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.”

I have grown exponentially since my first Global Brigade trip to Panama in January of 2013.  I have gained knowledge of two beautiful countries that I previously could not point to on a map.  I have gained real-world experience in dealing with patients of different walks of life, different languages, and different disease states than anything I will ever see working as a nurse in the privileged United States.  I have been forced to leap out of my comfort zone, and in doing so I have truly grown into the person I am today.  And lastly, I have been given the opportunity to delve deeper into my faith, and in doing so I discovered a spiritual side of myself that I did not previously know existed. 

Thus, through both my brigade experience and through this class, I have truly expanded my knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.  And because of these experiences, I will continue to expand my knowledge in this way.  I will continue to discover countries and peoples I would otherwise not know.  I will continue to gain real-world experiences in working with patients who come from very different places and speak very different languages.  I will continue to step out of my comfort zone, for I believe that is when one truly gets to know herself.  And lastly, I will continue to delve deeper into my faith, so that I will always have the courage to continue this medical work and the hope that my every action will be done for the greater glory of God.  

So, with that, I truly believe that this engaged learning experience has impacted my personal development in many profound ways.  I have been given the chance to reflect on my Global Brigades experiences, to grow from them, to learn more about the field of service learning, and to figure out what my next steps are in continuing my service learning both at Loyola and throughout my life after Loyola.  And in doing so, I have grown so much, and I hope to continue to grow exponentially in knowledge, experience, courage, and faith.