Helping Native American Youth during Spring Break

Besides the rigor of their course work, first-year medical students Lis Pordes and Nidhya Navanandan wanted to find a way to continue service to the community. It was essential for them to find a project that would serve the needs of a population within their own country. So they planned and raised funds for a trip to the Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, during spring break.

Northwestern medical students serve as role models.

Their focus, Pordes says, “was to help the disadvantaged with health disparities.� Once on the reservation, they, along with 13 other medical students, divided their time between the youth center, a rural health clinic, and a nearby hospital.

“Even though the community was very welcoming,� Pordes says, “it is hard for an outsider to instill change. We saw that change needed to come from within.� Therefore, the primary role of the volunteers became one of instructing the youth on the importance of education.

Already, a trip to the reservation in spring 2008 has been organized. “We want this program to continue and grow,� Navanandan says. “Eventually, we hope this experience will be offered all four years.�