Reflection: Dani

It’s been a little over a week since we have returned from Panama City, and like any Operation Smile experience, nothing but a long response could describe just how incredible and worthwhile it was. It may be a bit redundant to say that Operation Smile is an incredible organization, but it has an amazing quality that as Jenn puts it, makes it better than real life. Operation Smile gives us the chance to really do something with our lives. It’s a place where the present is so important and amazing, that all of the other stuff that usually distracts us falls away. My trip with our sponsor Carlos Veron and fellow College Council members Megan Lloyd, James Reid, and Jennifer Mings was no different. From the moment we got through customs, (next time I should probably read the form a bit more closely!) the students who worked so hard from Panama to help us put the conference together surrounded us. Ana, Maria, and Roberto were absolutely amazing, and we are also grateful for all of the help and support they provided both before and during the conference. Not only that, but they also were often our taxis and tour guides, and we had a great time getting to know them as we got everything ready for the conference and for our team day. All three of them are such incredible leaders and I am so glad that we got to work with them.

After our fantastic days spent shopping for supplies, putting together the final aspects of the conference, promoting Operation Smile on the radio, and checking out the Panama Canal, we finally were ready for the conference. After all of our preparation, the weekly conference calls, and the constant emails, the conference finally began. We worked so hard to put this all together, and it was with a great deal of excitement and nerves that we began. We were nervous because we weren’t certain how great the language barrier would be. However, the students who came to the conference were so enthusiastic and fun to be around that, despite the difference in language, we didn’t struggle much. Those who were fully bilingual were always willing to help us out, and those who weren’t were so enthusiastic about Operation Smile that communication was much easier than it would have otherwise been.

While there were many highlights to the conference, including the hard lessons learned in the What is it Like to be a Patient Scavenger Hunt, our enthusiastic speakers, and the games, my favorite part of the conference was the service project that the students did on the morning of the last day. I think of this moment as proof that our conference was really effective and worth their time, and ours.

Typically, mission-training students get more time to prepare, spend more time with the information, and have more resources. Each of our breakout groups had great students who were so inventive in the way they presented the information, and all of the groups had bright, hands-on posters that invited kids and their parents to participate.

I remember going through mission training over a year and a half ago, stressing over how much I was supposed to remember, how to make it interesting, and how to make it interactive. Since the students were working with even less time, we were a bit nervous how it was going to go. However, they absolutely and completely surpassed all of our expectations and genuinely made a difference. Some of the students in my group were put in a waiting room in the far end of the hospital. The TV was bouncing back and forth between Spanish music and infomercials, and the few families in the waiting room looked exhausted and stressed. The students hovered together around the entrance, the natural reaction to being thrown into a new situation. It’s that first moment on the mission where suddenly, you’re there and there are people all around, and you’re not quite sure how to start. The students glanced at each other, and then the moment passed and each pair headed off to a different family. Their confidence in their presentations was incredible, and the families were all appreciative for their presentations. One family, of a mother with her young son and baby daughter were waiting for the boy’s blood to be drawn. Very shortly into their presentation, he was called back to get his blood drawn, and he returned in tears. Instead of shying away from the emotional boy, four students compassionately surrounded him, dental hygiene and nutrition posters in hand. In order to staunch his tears, one of the girls removed the pin holding her name tag to her shirt, got a slip of paper from the hospital desk, and created a homemade sticker, that said “superhero” for him to wear. Meanwhile, the other three girls encouraged him to participate in removing the germs from their poster of a dirty mouth. Though he was still watery-eyed, he began to remove germs, completely forgetting about his sore arm. These four girls were so successful, that not only did they manage to teach the family about basic dental hygiene but they also managed to deal with the situation at hand without a blink of an eye.

These presentations, which are done on medical missions, can be difficult, and just like the rest of the students at the conference the girls did an amazing job with it. After the service project, James, Megan, Jenn and I were all so proud of how well it went, and how well the students adapted to each situation.

The conference really was a success, and I’m so glad I had a chance to work with James, Megan, and Jenn for these past few months to put it all together. Though we are all from Albuquerque, New Mexico, I was the only one of the four of us that attended Bosque High School. I was so grateful for the chance to get to know all of them better. James has one of those personalities that is just so much fun to be around. He did an amazing job spearheading the planning for this conference, and it was largely thanks to his extra work communicating with Operation Smile Panama that made this conference work. Megan is one of the most genuine people I know. We’re the two newbies on the College Council, though if you watched Megan working you would never know it. She is such a hard worker and so creative. She has done some absolutely incredible things with her club, and I want my college club to follow in UNM’s footsteps, because Megan and her club do such great things. I’ve had the chance to work with Jenn in high school through Operation Smile, and it absolutely amazes me what this girl can do. Her drive is absolutely astonishing. She may be one of the busiest people I know, and despite being so busy, she still manages to do a great job on everything she tries. Finally, we were so lucky to have Carlos as our sponsor. I’m so glad that he now works for Operation Smile, because he is such a great addition to student programs. He was willing to do whatever it took to make sure the little things all came together, becoming our translator, tech guy, and he also kept track of the budget. He was also one of our most popular speakers for the conference, and such a fun person to be around.

I am so thankful for this opportunity and for the chance to meet and work the people, from Xenia, Catherine, at Operation Smile Panama, to Gabi, who is so hardworking and talented, to Roberto, Ana, and Maria, to Jenn, James, Megan, and Carlos, to finally the students themselves. It was all of these people who really made this experience the crazy, fun, educational, life-changing experience that it was.

Reflection: Jenn

It has nearly been a week since I was in the Panama airport dreading my trip back home. I love college, learning new things, and my friends just as much as the next college student, but there's always something that is so much better about doing volunteer work for Operation Smile. We always joke about doing work for OpSmile as being "fake life" but in reality, it's just so much better than the "real life". Being around inspirational people all the time, helping an amazing cause, and actually being able to make a difference...yeah, that doesn't sound real does it? Sure, helping and volunteering back home is great, but there's always something better about being able to see your impact firsthand.

When I was informed in January that I would be going to Panama City, Panama with James, Megan, and Dani, I was ecstatic. I have been involved with Operation Smile for almost five years now and have known James, Megan, and Dani almost as long. I knew that we would be able to put on a successful conference using the strengths and abilities each of us had and that was demonstrated right away. As soon as we were told about Panama, we began work. We completed a complete outline of our conference, held an hour long conference call with the executive director of Operation Smile Panama, and set up weekly deadlines. The task ahead seemed super daunting, but I had faith that we were fully capable. Having helped plan an International Student Leadership Conference and a Mission Training Workshop while on the Executive Leadership Council, I knew that planning any conference for Operation Smile required a lot of work. However, we had previously had the help of the amazing Student Programs and I was a little terrified at the idea of planning a conference entirely alone. And when I say alone, I mean it. We were given a budget, told not to go over it, and then...everything was up to us. Like...um...what?!?! While it was a daunting task, we were definitely up to the challenge.

Nine weeks, 12 conference calls, countless emails, and many sleepless nights later, I was sitting on the plane next to James trying to get it into my head that I was actually going to Panama. The rest of my friends were either going home or going to Mexico for Spring Break and I was about to embark on a life changing trip. It wasn't until I got off the plane in Panama City and saw the signs in Spanish that I realized it was actually happening. I immediately felt nervous, happy, and excited all at the same time. I stopped thinking about my midterm grades and the immense amount of homework I had due the day I got back and started thinking of all the things we STILL had to do.

As we exited customs in the airport (yeah, we had problems...probably should have thought ahead), we were greeted by Ana, Maria, and Roberto. These three Panamanian students are some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. They tirelessly worked side by side with us to ensure that the U-Lead conference went successfully. Without them, the conference would have been impossible to put on. Not to mention they helped us out whenever there was a language barrier (probably should have worked on ordering food in Spanish before we went...oops.) In addition, we met Gabby. This student sponsor is one of the most vivacious and dedicated women I have ever met. Whenever she wasn't helping us at the conference, she was selling Operation Smile cups and balls for cincuenta centavos (50 cents :)) I can honestly say that these four people are some of the most welcoming, hilarious, inspirational, and dedicated people I have ever met.

The conference itself was full of inspirational speakers, but most of the talking was done by us. We talked about the importance of being involved with Operation Smile and how to further get involved. We shared our own personal mission stories and played many emotional videos. We also taught two health modules that are taught at Mission Training Workshop--dental hygiene and nutrition. In fact, James and I often reveled at how the U-Lead conference was turning into a mini Mission Training Workshop. In fact, similar to Mission Training, the students at U-Lead were required to make their own versions of the dental hygiene and nutrition health modules. We required this not only to help the students grasp a better understanding of the information, but also because on the last day we had a service project arranged involving the health modules. The service project had the students go out into the hospital and present the modules to the children and their parents. I had many apprehensions about the service project. I wasn't sure if there would be enough children to present to, if we would run into problems with the hospital staff, if parents would reject our students' offers to educate, or if our students would take their tasks seriously. Luckily, the service project went perfectly. In fact, the service project was probably my favorite activity of the entire conference. As I watched my group (PURPLE TEAMMM!) disperse throughout the waiting room, I felt instantly relieved. The students on my team weren't nervous at all and went straight to the first children they saw. I started to tear up as I saw the faces of the kids they were presenting to. They were eager to practice brushing their teeth and stopped everything they were doing to listen. My students gained confidence after every presentation, asking me if they could do more, if they could go to different waiting rooms, if they could present to just adults because there weren't enough children. I was instantly reminded of myself on my mission, 16, eager, and trying to make a difference. Seeing them present brought me back to that little town in Ethiopia and all of the children that I was able to help. The reason I am so infatuated with Operation Smile is because it not only allows volunteers to help change lives, but it also dramatically changes the volunteer's life. I can honestly say that without Operation Smile, I would be an entirely different person than I am today.

As I said above, I have known Megan, James, and Dani for practically forever. Megan is actually the reason I first became involved in Operation Smile. I first became friends with Megan through swimming and was able to see her leadership skills in both the swim team and Operation Smile. Her passion and drive motivated me to come to meetings; I admired her dedication to the cause. That very same passion and dedication still exists today. James Reid. James is one of my closest friends and I was really excited to be able to go to Panama with him. He was the president of our high school club the year before me and I have always strived to be as good of a leader as him. He is certainly one of the most inspirational people I know and has definitely changed my life. Can't really imagine life without that lanky sunburned boy (: While not as close to Dani because she went to a rival high school (booo Bosque...jk ;)) I have always admired Dani's dedication to Operation Smile. Dani is one of the hardest workers I know and I feel blessed to have gotten to get to know her better in Panama. Last but not least, Carlos Veron. As our student sponsor, it was his job to help us with anything and everything we needed. Carlos went above and beyond his job. Carlos' amazing personality completed our student team. He helped make participants more comfortable, translated whenever needed, did an AMAZING presentation on leadership, and dealt with our shenanigans (we are kinda crazy). I love Carlitos! I am so glad that he now works for Operation Smile and know that he will do an amazing job in his position.

So, for all of you reading that have asked me in the past week, "Jenn, HOW WAS PANAMA?!" I hope this answers your question. Volunteering with Operation Smile cannot be summed up shortly. My week in Panama was full of emotion and experiences that I will never forget. I feel truly honored that I was given the opportunity to launch the pilot U-Lead program in Panama. I know that our conference has helped to give student volunteers in Panama a new perspective on volunteering with Operation Smile, and I hope that it has helped to change their lives. I know that it has changed mine.

--Jenn

Reflection: James

Upon arriving home, I was immediately bombarded with the question, "How was Panama?" Like many Operation Smile experiences, it is difficult to put into words. In short, Panama was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget. I feel proud and accomplished to say that I was able to put on a three day conference for about 50 students in Panama with the Megan Lloyd, Jennifer Mings, and Dani Rivera. I think our efforts really paid off and we ultimately made an impact in the lives of high school students, inspiring them to become leaders, become more involved with philanthropy. I hope that U-Lead Panama 2011 really motivated the students to act on their goals and to make a difference in the world. I went to Panama hoping to change the lives of others, but I soon realized that the experience changed my life.

After concluding a hectic round of midterm exams in the second semester of my sophomore year of college, I set off for Panama City, Panama to pilot a U-Lead initiative for Operation Smile. While I certainly love Boston, the city I go to school in, it has a few flaws. The city is often cold and always filled with college students who are constantly racing around at an unrelenting pace. I am frequently confronted with biting winds,  apathetic college students, and the stereotypically icy attitudes of New England people. Panama allowed to see the world in a fresh way. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Panama, I knew that I was in for a massive culture shock. Immediately we were warmly embraced by the in-country student leaders who helped us plan the conference and our great Paraguayan sponsor Carlos Veron. I soon grew to love the hot weather and slow pace of the country, known lovingly as "Panama Time."

Instantly I felt incredibly grateful for this experience. Operation Smile Student Programs entrusted us to create, plan, and lead an entire conference all by ourselves in a foreign country. This program was a pilot program, being tested for the first time in Panama and India by the 7 students, including myself, that make up the newly formed College Council. Our work will ultimately determine whether or not this is a sustainable initiative and whether or not other students would have this opportunity. Like any non-profit organization, budgets are often tight, and opportunities like this are not handed out often. Our team immediately felt the pressure to succeed at the task at hand, but we also felt empowered and trusted by the organization we love. I have significant experience planning and running conferences, including 2 International Student Leadership Conferences and 3 Mission Training workshops. But this was unlike anything I've ever done before. Unlike the other experiences, our team was responsible to do almost everything on our own, with little support from Operation Smile staff. We worked from scratch to produce a schedule, a student manual, a conference t-shirt. We had to find and confirm guest speakers and work out every little detail of the conference, bracing ourselves as best we could for the inevitable last minute changes. Sometimes the task felt incredibly daunting and stressful, pushing us to our limits as we worked to balance school, a social life, our school clubs,  contact with regional clubs, and this massive task.  I frequently  skipped lunch to squeeze in more work, answering the 5-10 e-mails that accrued in my inbox in only a few hours on a daily basis. At times I felt like planning U-Lead was consuming my life, but perhaps more than anything, my week in Panama taught me that nothing worth doing comes easily. In order to make a difference, I knew I had to put my all into this initiative. After dozens and dozens of hours of volunteer work and three months of weekly conference calls, we made a plan that would lay the basis for the many U-Lead conferences again. Along with U-Lead India, we can now proudly say that our work can be used for years to come to change the lives of others.

After three months of intensive work, we set off for Panama, nervous, anxious, and excited to put our plan into action. I asked myself: Would everything go as planned? Is this even worth our time? Will we make an impact? What will the Panamanians be like? Will be able to handle this? I found that our work payed off more than we expected. I immediately began to love Panama City. It is a vibrant city that represents a dramatic clash between the first and third worlds, offering many of the pluses and minuses of both. The people were extremely welcoming, proudly showing us around their beautiful country, welcoming us into their homes, and doing everything they could to make us feel comfortable.  At every turn of the time, our new friends extended themselves beyond measure to make sure we enjoyed ourselves, driving us around the city and squeezing in tourist sites when and were we could. I found myself ending each night happier than the one before. I became more and more grateful for the experience and fell more and more in love with the people and culture of Panama. Sometimes, we struggled to break through language barriers, but every time we met someone new they undoubtedly asked us one question: "Do you like Panama?" Each time I thought to myself, why do they even ask? Of course I love Panama!



For me, the greatest part of the conference was doing a service project in the hospital. We had spent the second day teaching the students about dental hygiene and nutrition, having them to develop presentations on these health modules. On the third day the students went around the hospital where our conference was held, presenting their knowledge to parents and children to simulate a mission experience and hopefully change some lives. Admittedly I was nervous about how this service project would go. I was worried about whether or not they were prepared enough to give presentation, since a formal Mission Training Workshop allows for much more time and practice. But when I saw those students in action, I saw myself on my mission. Their enthusiasm, courage, and passion blew me away. Memories of my experience in Agadir, Morocco in June 2008 flooded back and my biggest hopes were materialized. The students exceeded expectations and came back feeling accomplished and eager to make a greater impact. This service project really showed the unlimited potential of the world's youth. It showed how anyone, anywhere can make a difference in the world with just a little instruction.  Often Operation Smile medical missions are full of parents and children that don't have basic information about health. Student Programs has worked over the years to develop health modules that allow students to go on medical missions as student educators. Operation Smile is one of the only non-profit organizations in the United States that empowers students by allowing them to go on international medical missions. Operation Smile often sends mostly American students on these missions, but this service project really showed what a difference amazing in-country foundations like the one in Panama can make in the world. I strongly believe that youth anywhere can change the world if they are given the right tools.

I am so grateful to have such an amazing team of leaders to work with. Megan, Jenn, and Dani are definitely some of the most inspiring people, I've ever met. We all come from Albuquerque, New Mexico. When I first got involved with the organization, our region was nothing but a small blip on the Student Programs radar, but the three years of Albuquerque leaders on the U-Lead team really show how much we have come. Thanks to the empowerment and trust of staff and sponsors, we've been able to make a huge impact in the world despite the fact that our region is less economically fortunate than other parts of the country. Megan is the person who dragged me to my first Operation Smile meeting--an action that changed my life forever. She is someone who I have looked up to throughout my involvement in Operation Smile. Jenn is one of the amazing leaders that I passed the torch to after I graduated high school. I am so proud of the leader that she has become, growing as a person and reflecting many of the qualities I want to see in myself. Dani is the one that helped our club at Cibola High School grow into a region by spreading Operation Smile at her high school at Bosque, getting involved at an early age, and helping to establish a powerful club and region in New Mexico. These young women are undoubtedly strong leaders that have changed my life and made me feel so fortunate to be working alongside them. 

Overall, I feel extremely proud about how successful our U-Lead Conference went. Of course it was not perfect. We had a few organizational problems, and sometimes we were forced to confront unexpected circumstances. No conference is flawless, but I feel like the initiative was a resounding success. I am excited that university students may have a similar experience in the future because this conference represents a culmination of 5+ years of hard work. I am proud that I have worked to earn this opportunity and am extremely grateful for the responsibility that was give to me. The week in Panama proved to me, once again, that this is what I want to do for a living. I wanted the conference to be about "Inspiring Waves of Change." I wanted to motivate students to make a difference and get more involved, but their passion, dedication, enthusiasm, vast potential and willingness to learn had a profound impact on me. I know that there is nothing that makes me happier than this. I know that I want to continue my work with Operation Smile and to continue my efforts to make the world a better place for the rest of my life. 

The Final Day…why are we leaving again

After learning about health modules on dental hygiene and nutrition the day before, the students really came prepared today.  Many students had continued to improve their health modules at home and returned to the hospital with presentations that looked like they could be at mission sites.  It is fair to say that we were more than impressed.  While many of the students were nervous to go out into the hospital to present, their fears dissolved once they actually entered the waiting rooms.  Separated into groups of two, the students made their way through four waiting rooms, talking to both parents and children about dental hygiene and nutrition.  Balboa Academy even had toothbrushes and toothpaste to hand out after their presentations.  For the four of us, watching the students present their health modules brought back memories of the presentations that we made on our missions.  It was definitely up there in the top moments of the U-Lead conference. Their hard work really showed us the vast potential of international students as student educators on in-country missions. These students, who had significantly less time and practice that those at Mission Training Workshop, really proved that anyone with passion and dedication can make a difference in a mission situation.  After everyone had finished presenting their health modules, we all convened to share stories.  All of the students had positive things to say, but there was one story in particular that stood out.  The two-student team had approached a crying young boy that was waiting in line with his mother waiting to see a doctor.  Once they started to present to him about dental hygiene, however, his tears turned into a smile.  This presentation in particular showed the students that what they do can really help change someone’s life, even if it is in a small way.

Following our discussion, we took the conference outside to add a little competition into the mix.  A game of Capture the Flag, with two teams on each side, was arranged in the area across the street from the hospital.  Although there was some disagreements with the rules, and a lot of name calling (mostly the world “tramposos!” which means cheater) it turned out to be a fun time.  However, because it was mid 90s outside today, we decided to call the came early and ended it in a tie (probably for the best as we are all overly competitive). Lunch today was the same delicious pizza that we had yesterday, and it was definitely needed after all of the physical exertion.  While everyone finished up eating, we started our second service project of the day—making posters and cards for the upcoming screening mission on Saturday March 19^th in Santiago, Panama.  Each group designed posters together that are going to be hung up around the hospital and each group member made good luck cards that are to be handed out to each patient that is screened.  The posters and cards were all really creative and we had a fun time making them.

Then started the crazy/fun (or crazy fun?) part of our day.  After cleaning up the service project, we were able to squeeze in just a little more tourism time, and the Panamanian students took us to Panama Viejo.   Literally translated to mean “Old Panama” this city of ruins was what used to be Panama City.  Unfortunately it was destroyed by English pirates in the 1500s.  Walking around the ruins was definitely a cultural experience that we couldn’t have ever had back in the United States.

After Panama Viejo, we drove to meet the students of the conference for our final party.  The party was a cultural experience in itself; it was held in a chiva (basically a school bus with no windows decked out with lights and unique decorations).  From when we got on the bus at 7:00 until we got off at 10:00, music was playing.  Dancing is a big part of the Panamanian culture and we definitely were able to experience that tonight.  We were also able to view the city from the bay area; the skyline was certainly a sight to be seen.

All in all, this conference has been an amazing experience for all four of us.  We are so proud of the work that the participants have done over these three days, and are so grateful for everything that Operation Smile Panama has done for us to help plan the conference and while we were here.  WE LOVE PANAMA!  Stay tuned for individual reflections on our trip! 

U-Lead Day 2: Missions, Moduals, and panaMania

Day 2 went amazingly well. Today's presentations centered around the mission experience. The day opened up with presentations from two amazing surgeons that volunteer for Operation Smile Panama, Dr. Alberto Moreno and Dr. Carlos De Leon. Both speakers took time out of their busy schedules to talk about their personal experiences and the structure of missions, how patients are chosen, and what kind of volunteers work for Operation Smile. Like all our guest speakers they spoke only en español; we planned the "spanglish" conference to bridge the language barrier between the American Balboa High School and the bilingual Panamerican School which represent the majority of participants at our conference. Next we all explained different ways of getting your story known, including social netowrking sites, OS Central, blogs, reaching out contacts, and comparing and contrasting different ways to do presentations. The Panamanian leaders that have been so helpful, Maria, Anna, and Roberto, really showed their true colors once again by giving an amazing presentation about their mission experiences in Panama. After a great lunch of Panamanian pizza, we taught presentations about two health modules, dental hygiene and nutrition, from Mission Training Workshop. The students then got into groups of two or three to make and then present their knowledge about the health modules in preparation for our service project tomorrow. Since our conference is held in a children's hospital, they are going to present what they have learned to los niños in the hospital.

So these students have been learning a lot about Operation Smile, leadership, service, education, awareness, and the mission experience, but what are they going to do about it? We worked in small groups to write and discuss personal goals about what students can do to improve their involvement with Operation Smile, to improve their roles as leaders, and to inspire their peers to help others. We then brought everyone together to brainstorm new ways to raise money, spread awareness, and connect and grow student clubs in Panama. To cap off the day we played a heated, fun game of Jeopardy to review what they had learned over the past two days. Jenn's "Purple Team" pulled ahead to take first place. Most of the students went home as parents started to come in to attend a question and answer session lead by Carlos Veron about the International Student Cultural Exchange (ISCE) in Beijing, China. James did his part to provide a personal account of what a significant impact these international conferences have had on his life in the past four years.

We then went out to dinner with some of the student leaders and  Gabi the sponsor from the Panamerican School at a place called Beruit. We feasted on some amazing Lebanese food (Hey, we know we're in Panama, but we're also international adventurers!) and shared some good laughs.

Panama continues to be a beautiful, welcoming country that makes us love the people more and more every day. Each day we have had fun and done what we have can to inspire the passionate leaders of the nation. We continue to be thankful for and humbled by this amazing opportunity. Day 3 looks like a lot of fun. Students will present their health modules around the hospital, play a game of Capture the Flag, and make decorations for a local screening mission on Saturday in the countryside. Our final party will surely be exciting. In usual Operation Smile fashion, we will wrap up the conference with a fun dance party, but this time it will be on a moving bus called a chiva. Now that is what we call panaMania!!

U-Lead Day 1: The Team that Cleanses Together Stays Together

With a bit of trepidation and a lot of excitement, we began the conference. We started the morning a bit before seven in the morning, and enjoyed our breakfast before heading out to the hospital to prepare for the day. In natural Operation Smile fashion, it was an organized mess. We quickly put up signs and got everything ready for check in. It was exciting that we were finally getting to meet everyone after working for so long to create this conference. We had 56 students registered and to get everything started off right, Carlos spoke about leadership. To follow it up, we had the wonderful Arlene Arias speak about the importance of volunteerism, and Eugene Alteri, the president of the board of Operation Smile Panama, speak about the 20th anniversary of Operation Smile Panama. We also presented on the pillars of student programs, and got to give presentations on how to present Operation Smile to different groups. We also had students present on leadership, education, service, and awareness. Each group came up with a creative way to present on their topics, and each presentation was unique. Finally, Megan’s hard work paid off in a fun, though chaotic way. The scavenger hunt challenged the students in new and different ways, including asking them to translate from French to English in order to encourage them to experience a bit of the mission process. They also wore bandanas, to simulate having a cleft deformity, and had to see if they’d receive a mission or not. There were also the comical mishaps, such as the flying controller. Jenn dropped it, not only did it fall but also exploded into different parts, the batteries rolling everywhere. The participants were also very gregarious; one memorable student’s suggestion on fundraising was to get "hot girls" to hand out flyers to passing cars. After the conference ended for the day, we worked on an Operation Smile fundraiser that was providing a portion of its profits to Operation Smile. After dinner, we headed to the grocery store for some candy, for the conference, naturally. To top it all off, to end the day, we had a cleansing party, having a competition to see who had the dirtiest face. After all, the team that cleanses together stays together!

On a final note, the Team Panama conference song for 2011 is: Watagatapitusberry. Check it.

 

Our students organizing themselves into "age groups" during the 

pre-op stage of the "What if you were a patient" scavenger hunt

Día Libre!

We had one more free day today before the conference starts tomorrow morning so we decided to spend the day soaking up all Panama City has to offer. We spent the morning doing an interview on Radio Hugar with Xenia, Carlos, and the three Panamerican students informing the listeners in Panama on where the mission screening will be located this Sunday, how they can be helped by Operation Smile, our U-Lead conference, and how the organization has changed all of our lives for the better. Despite the fact that there were nine people in a tiny sound proof room with only three microphones, the interview went surprisingly well. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, we all shared our heart-filled stories and tried our best to encourage all the listeners in need to come to the screening on Sunday and seek help. After we wrapped up our interview we headed to lunch at a beautiful country club right on the ocean. We were lucky enough to spend lunch with Arlene Arias, the regional advisor for Central America and the Caribbean regions, as well as one of our guest speakers for the U-Lead conference. After lunch we all crammed back into two cars and headed to the Panama Canal! We took a scenic route there and drove by the United States Embassy as well as many other landmarks that exemplified the history between the U.S. and Panama. The Canal was everything we could have expected, even James and Dani were impressed! We watched at least five huge ships slowly ease through the Miraflores Lock. We were all fascinated watching the water change levels and the ships lower down into the next lock. It was truly an amazing experience to watch how the Canal operates and so interesting to learn the history of the Canal. We wrapped up the day with a visit to Panama City old town. The vibe of the city immediately changed from fast pace city traffic to a serene and calm oasis of old brick roads and crumbling buildings, similar to something you might see in the French Quarter in New Orleans. We ate diner at a little restaurant in the square called Casablanca and then headed back to the hotel to go over any last minute details for the start of the conference tomorrow. After weeks of planning, we can’t believe that the beginning of the U-Lead conference in Panama has finally come! We are looking forward to what tomorrow has in store for us and as always we will tell you all about it mañana!

Preparation Day

We began today with a delicious breakfast laid out by the hotel.  Empanadas, fresh fruit, and eggs amongst other things were graciously made available to us.  After we ate, we were reunited with Xenia Alvarado, the executive director of Operation Smile Panama.  We were then driven a couple of miles down the road to the children’s hospital that our U-Lead conference will be held in.  After being given a quick tour of the auditoriums that are being donated for our use, we now have a much better idea of how to organize our break out sessions and group get togethers.  Our new friends Roberto, Ana, and Maria were also able to meet up with us (they were ditching school…shhh don’t tell) and we all drove together to the Operation Smile Panama headquarters.  This was really exciting for all of us and a lot of picture taking in front of the OS Panama sign ensued.  Xenia gave us the official tour of headquarters, which actually has an uncanny semblance to the Norfolk headquarters.  After re-working our schedule due to a small misunderstanding, Xenia brought us to the mall to buy supplies for posters, the service project, and the scavenger hunt.  More details on the scavenger hunt are soon to follow, but basically it will allow students to go through the “mission” process.  Anyways…back to the mall.  This mall is INSANE.  It actually happens to be the biggest mall in all of Central America.  No big deal or anything.  We had an authentic Panamanian lunch which was composed of juices (jugas) of many different flavors and a pile of food with four different types of meat, plantains, French fries, and many other things. It was certainly a fun introduction to Panamanian culture.

            After lunch we began the real goal of the day: get prepared for the mission. We found a store in the massive mall that had everything we needed—poserboard, tape, construction paper, paint, markers—you name it, we bought it. While Panama uses the US Dollar, this shopping trip really proved how we could get a bang for our buck, getting a lot of supplies while staying within the budget. We returned to the Panama HQ to work on preparation for the conference. We had to make posers to show participants where the auditorium was inside the hospital we visited. We also made sure to work on the kinks of our scavenger hunt. Megan Llyod has been in change of putting particular attention to developing a fun scavenger hunt that would challenge students to deal with the difficulties of a mission experience, mimicking the steps from finding the location of the site to understanding the foreign language of the doctors to dealing with the shame of having a facial deformity.

After a long day of work, we were graciously welcomed into Xenia Alvarado’s beautiful home in downtown Panama City. Her charming urban apartment had an amazing view of the skyline and coastline. Our student helpers, Roberto, Ana, and Maria and much of the Alvarado family joined us. We quickly learned the importance of family in Operation Smile Panama, as a Xenia’s mother, “Mamma Xenia,” treated us to a homemade authentic, delicious dinner of rice and chicken, cinnamon plantains, and beet infused potato salad with bread pudding for dessert. The Operation Smile Panama team of students, staff, and family really showed their colors today—proving to be immensely generous and passionate members of the Op Smile community. We felt like we were having dinner with lifelong friends after a long day of preparation for the conference.

With that out of the way, tomorrow we are excited to have a “free day” in Panama where we have been promised a little extra fun. We’re going to be on a radio show, see the Panama Canal, and have lunch at a country club as honorary guests. Keep following! Our story has only just begun.

P.S. Mama Xenia told us that she's been referring to our conference as "that Wikileaks thing." Apparently U-Lead sounds a little like U-Leak with a Spanish accent. So here's to you Julian Assange!

Hitting The Ground Running!

After a day of traveling, we arrived in Panama City excited and eager to get acquainted with Panamanian culture. After going through customs we were greeted by our mission sponsor Carlos Veron, and the in-country support team that has been helping us plan. Anna, Maria, Roberto, and their sponsor Gabi from the Panamerican School immediately made us feel welcome. We got to see the bright, beautiful Panama City skyline as we drove to our hotel, the Torros de Alba. After getting settled, reviewing our plans for the next two days and getting some of the conference supplies organized, the students and sponsor from the Panamerican School generously treated us to an authentic local dinner near our hotel. It was a chance for us to get to know eachother and share a few laughs over great food like Sancocho  Panameno. At the University Symposium we attended in January, staff had challenged us to use the Magee's kitchen to make some Panamanian food. Tonight we discovered that the Sancocho we made in Virginia was just like the real thing. We’ve only been here a few hours but we’re already having a great time. The nice weather, welcoming people, and good food have made it a great experience so far. 

P.S. James is especially excited to leave the sunless Arctic fortress that is Boston. Today Carlos told him that he was so white he reminded him of a Edward Cullen from Twlight. *Thanks Carlos*

U-Lead Panama Preview #2

Well, it's almost time! Two more days until we fly down to Panama city. As we're working to finish out our midterm exams and get the heck out of school, we're also trying to tie up any loose ends for U-Lead Panama. Planning has been narrowed down, and now we're just making sure we are packing everything up. We can't forget anything! Yet another conference call scheduled for Saturday morning. It goes without saying that  we're extremely excited to do our part to spread the growth of student volunteerism while going on a pretty cool trip to Central America.

Here's another sneak peak of what we have in store for students at the U-Lead conference: Day two will be centered around teaching the students about the Operation Smile medical mission experience. Since all four of us have had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go abroad as a high school student educator on an Operation Smile medical mission, we're going to do our share to encourage student involvement in Panama. Each of our lives was changed in a profound way by our experience. A mission experience is something that one can never forget. In-country support is crucial to the success of a mission because only in-country volunteers completely understand the culture and language they are working in. Students in Panama have many more opportunities than American students to attend and support medical missions, so we want to make sure they are excited to go and ready to help where they can. We'll have guest speakers who have significant experience on missions who can share their stories in Spanish (we are trying to have bi-lingual conference since no hablamos espanol). We'll also be teaching learning modals to teach children on medical missions such a nutrition and dental hygiene. This information can have a life saving effect on a child's life, and students at the U-Lead conference will be given the opportunity to practice presenting these modals in a children's wing of a hospital. We will also emphasize the crucial role of telling your story. Since mission opportunities are so limited, especially for American students, we fully understand the vital importance of spreading the story of that experience with those around you to inspire change. Teaching students how to share their experience in a meaningful way that inspires others is a significant step in giving these Panamanian students the tools to inspire waves of change.

Shout Out: U-Lead India

While we are working to put together the final pieces of the conference before we leave, our College Council friends on Team India, Claire Crawford, Jake Keller, and Logan Disch, are already hard at work in Mumbai setting up their conference.  Since both U-Lead missions are pilot missions to start a broader university level initiative, we hope to learn from our successes and mistakes in our respective countries to create a foundation for the many U-Lead missions to come.

U-Lead India has the same goals at U-Lead Panama, but we have been planning separately. This reflects the fact that each U-Lead mission will cater to a different set of needs, since each foundation country has a different level of student involvement and resources. Each country is of course very different and offers a broad range of opportunities and challenges. Together, Team India and Team Panama will combine our months of work into one pool of resources for future leaders to use as they see fit. Future U-Lead Missions will be comprised of at least one College Council member with experience and a couple of strong students from the Student Programs community. Numbers will depend of the needs of each mission site, and the College Council members will work to facilitate the planning of each unique conference. Although we must admit we were initially a little intimidated by the prospect of designing our own conference without much staff involvement, U-Lead is an exciting opportunity for university students involved in Operation Smile to make a direct impact on shaping the leaders of tomorrow. Now that's pretty exciting! All seven members of the current College Council are eager to share our efforts with the broader university community and enable university students to inspire the change they want to see in the world.

Good luck, Team India! We know your conference is going to be a resounding success.
To follow their mission go to the U-Lead: Mumbai, India 2011 site.

U-Lead Panama Preview #1

U-Lead Panama's goal is to work to inspire students involved in Operation Smile in Panama City to become leaders who are dedicated to helping others for the rest of their lives. We're extremely excited to go to Panama, but we still have about four days to go until we meet up in Atlanta, Georgia to fly together to Panama City. We can't wait to fill you in our progress while we're there. So here's a little sneak peak...

Day one of the conference will focus on what it means to be a "leader," emphasizing the pillars of Operation Smile Student Programs (leadership, education, awareness, and service) and elaborating on the many opportunities Student Programs has to offer. Since the U-Lead initiative is focused on growing the skills of already strong, dedicated high school leaders, the day will also be about empowering the participants by pushing them to plan and make their own presentations to the group. We know that each and every student who has taken time out of their busy schedule's to attend our conference is already interested in and willing to help Operation Smile, so we want to make sure they have the tools to spread the word and inspire waves of change.

(Video Made and Distributed by Executive Leadership Council Member Jenna Fredrickson)

Thanks UNM!

Special thanks to the University of New Mexico for their continued support of the U-Lead Panama team. This is an amazing club that has quickly risen to be one of the strongest university clubs around. In 2010 they won the "Best University Club" award at the International Student Leadership Conference and have proven time and time again their dedication and involvement to the organization.

Creating and maintaining a successful college club can be particularly difficult. With the constant stress of collegiate academics and the ever present reality that there are perhaps more fun things to do than helping others, it takes a lot for university clubs to mobilize individuals to help. But Operation Smile University of New Mexico remains a shining example of how it really is possible for students to conquer the looming threat of collegiate apathy. It seems easy to be involved in extracurricular and volunteer in high school, but sadly it seems that students often lose that passion and self motivation quickly after being accepted to college. So often students who were extremely involved in Operation Smile in high school give up and don't make the effort to continue their involvement. Operation Smile UNM beats the odds. The club was started and run by many of the same leaders who helped to make Albuquerque area clubs successful in the Student Programs community and has continued to work to inspire new college students to get involved.

Recently they have helped "Team Panama" member and UNM club president Megan Lloyd in all sorts of ways with our efforts to plan the U-Lead conference in Panama, proving that every project in Op Smile can and should be a team effort. They have helped in the ground level to do things like designing t-shirts and donating gifts for guest speakers. Recently they held a bake sale and a "What Makes Me Smile" to raise a little extra dough for U-Lead supplies. They set up a booth in a common area on campus and sold donated baked goods. They raised about $90 dollars in just a few hours work and spread awareness by having passers by share what makes them smile. Now that's what we like to see!
Thank you for your help, UNM!

How Can I Get Involved?

Through U-Lead, Operation Smile is spreading student volunteerism and leadership worldwide. The program provides university students with the opportunity to organized and execute a leadership conference in on of Operation Smile's partner countries, such as Kenya or Bolivia. If you're ready to hone your leadership skills in an international setting, then this exciting and rewarding opportunity is right for you.

The U-Lead program kicks off this March in India and Panama with Operation Smile’s College Council.
If you’re interested in our U-Lead program, email youthprograms@operationsmile.org. In order to be eligible, applicants must have participated in Operation Smile’s International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC or ISCE) at least once.

Planning, Planning, and More Planning

 After attending a University Symposium in Norfolk, Virginia we were given the once in a lifetime opportunity to pilot a new program that allows college students involved in Operation Smile develop student programs internationally. Since early January we have worked to create everything for a three day conference from scratch. Now only 5 days from heading to Panama, we just completed our final conference call. Each Monday we have taken an hour out of our hectic collegiate schedules to plan out every detail of the conference including the schedule, guest speakers, manuals, t-shirts, promotional fliers, and each and every presentation. Every week we each work on our own to chip away at the pile of tasks that need to be completed. Planning, planning and more planning. It's a ton of work, but we're all very excited to have the opportunity to pilot one of the first U-Lead missions for Operation Smile University Programs in Panama City, Panama. We have been working with Operation Smile Panama staff and Student Programs Carlos Veron from Paraguay to get everything done. Fingers are crossed, and the culmination of our work will pay off to inspire the already dedicated students helping the organization in Panama.

So why are we going to Panama? Panama has been extremely receptive and helpful in planning the U-Lead mission. They are one of the biggest supporters of Student Programs within the Operation Smile international community and already have a huge amount of student support. By holding a U-Lead mission in Panama, we hope to fulfill our conference motto "Inspiring Waves of Change." Hopefully our efforts will push the already strong student leaders in Panama to create a ripple effect, growing student clubs, and inspiring new groups of students to become leaders with a lifelong commitment to philanthropy. 

We're a bit nervous, but mostly we just can't wait to put the rigors of college aside for Spring Break and do what we really love--working to change the world, one smile at a time.

-James Reid

 From left to right: Megan, Claire, Jennifer, Logan, Jake, James and Dani