The 2025 Medicine in Mexico outreach mission successfully concluded in January 2025. Once again, we had an incredible experience providing care to the students, faculty, and staff of the Santa Maria del Mexicano of Colon, Queretaro, C.P. while providing a learning/teaching opportunity to the six Carroll students who accompanied us. This year’s trip required a fair amount of patience and resilience with several schedule changes while in the country and then a return flight disruption that required an extra night in Dallas on our way back. To call this group ‘Rock Stars’ is an understatement! The students worked alongside the providers, helping us with translation and simple medical procedures, i.e., obtaining a blood sugar, and were tasked with a health promotion lecture they provided to all the mission students. We couldn’t be prouder of our students, so rest assured that the future of healthcare is in great hands!
This year’s trip costs were again completely paid for by the Lund Trust. This covered the students and Dr. Strode, the faculty advisor. This is the second year we have received funding from them to help assure all students could participate without financial hardship. We are hopeful for another year of funding for this next year’s trip. Dr. Darren Hollenbaugh, President of the Montana Outreach Clinic, was instrumental in procuring these funds.
We also want to extend a huge thank you for the continued support of our faculty advisor, Dr. Kyle Strode. His student interactions are well balanced as teacher, mentor, friend, and support. We are thrilled he has been able to join us and find him an inspirational teacher and human.
Father Dan, the priest who runs and oversees the Mission, is extraordinarily complimentary of the quality of our students and the care we can provide. He provided us a history of the school and mission as well as the challenges to run this organization the past eight years. His talk is always well received and is a nice perspective balancer for the students to visualize a life in the third world. His service to the school and Mission is similarly inspirational; watching him interact with the students and staff who love him is a great role model for all of us in the pursuit of selfless service.
We are invited back for next year and will plan to organize another trip during this same time frame – after the new year and before school starts.
Again, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity to give back to the school and students we love!
Regards,
David Lechner, M.D.
Vice President Health Care Services & Chief Medical Officer
BlueCross Blue Shield of Montana
2025 Medicine in Mexico Participants
Montana Outreach Clinic:
- Darren Hollenbaugh, MD - President Montana Outreach Clinic
- Cindy Hollenbaugh, MD - Vice President Montana Outreach Clinic
- David Lechner, MD - Secretary-Treasurer Montana Outreach
- Clinic Kally Wilson, PA
Faculty Advisor: Kyle Strode, PhD
Students:
- Reuben Hornby
- Hunter Peck
- Emma Boharski
- Grace Stiles
- Kylie Munsinger
- Mikenna Deschamps
"The Medicine in Mexico trip was a very educational and priceless experience. Building meaningful connections with the kids as well as my peers was my favorite part of the trip. I learned so much about medicine as well as myself. This trip has encouraged me to seek out similar experiences and continue to serve others. This was an eye-opening experience and grew my appreciation for all of the things we are so lucky to have here at Carroll. I encourage any student who is interested in serving others to learn more about this trip and apply!"
~ Hunter Peck, Windsor, CO
"I am very grateful for this authentic, eye-opening experience. As a pre-physical therapy student, I have always held a passion for helping others, however, serving for the Santa Maria mission allowed me to truly experience what it means to provide meaningful patient care. I was genuinely touched by each of the kids we worked with, and being able to form genuine connections with them made the experience even more impactful. This trip has greatly inspired my ambitions to provide care to underserved areas in the future."
~ Kylie Munsinger, Kalispell, MT
"This trip was a blessed experience that I'll remember for life! It was full of several insightful interactions, from learning and working with amazing healthcare providers to serving such a welcoming community and immersing myself in the language. These kids may not have a lot, but they choose to be grateful for everything. I would encourage others to apply their unique skill set in any capacity of service, similarly to this amazing outreach trip!"
~ Emma Boharski, Deer Park, WA
"My time in Mexico was an incredible learning experience, where I had the opportunity to assist healthcare providers through medical examinations and translations. I highly recommend this experience to everyone, as it not only challenges you to step outside of your comfort zone, but also allows for you to make a meaningful impact through serving others."
~ Mikenna Deschamps, Lolo, MT
"This was an eye-opening experience and has changed my perspective on how privileged we are here. Being immersed into a culture that I had not originally been in has given me a lot of respect for people that donate their time to help developing countries. Even as a not so strong Spanish speaker, I felt very comfortable making conversations with each of the students and staff members here. Everyone was incredibly welcoming!"
~ Reuben Hornby, Kalispell, MT
“The trip was an incredible experience. We, as students, learned how to conduct health assessments and eye exams, create medical records, apply fluoride to teeth, and deliver informational health presentations. Perhaps even more valuable than gaining these new skills was the opportunity to form relationships with the children at Santa María. They are some of the sweetest and most hardworking children I have ever met. Despite having very little, they are full of joy. Although many of us on the trip were not fluent in Spanish, we found ways to communicate and shared several meaningful interactions with the people there. The memories I made on this trip are ones I will always cherish."
~ Grace Stiles, Oroville, WA