MEDLIFE recently held its second annual Leadership Corps, a two-week service learning trip that is open to Chapter Leaders and Student Advisory Board (SAB) members. This year, eight student leaders were joined by MEDLIFE staff, including CEO Dr. Nick Ellis, in Ecuador and Peru to learn in-depth about MEDLIFE’s work and future goals, as well as global health and development issues such as structural violence, education, urban development, public health and international aid.

It was an action-packed two weeks that included a hike to Llilla, the first community MEDLIFE ever worked with back in 2004, where both students and staff spent a somewhat chilly night camping at 3,800m and ran a mobile clinic the next day. Other activities involved visiting the hospital and daycare center belonging to Fundacion Tierra Nueva in Quito, attending a night meeting in Lima with over 300 community members, learning about Peru’s recent history at the LUM, working on a development project, and dropping by the MEDLIFE Wawa Wasi in Union Santa Fe.

We’d like to thank this year’s participants: Carolann McNicoll (McGill University), Karolina Weglinska (McGill University), Erika Ortiz (University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla), Matthew Holmes (Rowan University), Heena Patel (Rowan University), Jason Hong (Richard Montgomery High School), Hailee Peterson (University of North Dakota) and Fouad Berry (University of Michigan, Dearborn).

Check out the video below to see more footage from the 2017 Leadership Corps!