In 2025, patients at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Honduras received life-changing care from volunteer physicians and students. The medical mission trip is hosted by One World Surgery and Summit Orthopedics. Photos: Summit Orthopedics
Students experience operating rooms and patient care through a medical mission trip.
A group of students from across the East Metro each share something unique in common. This past summer, they returned from their first-ever mission trip to Honduras with fresh perspectives and stories that have altered the course of their futures.
Hosted by One World Surgery (OWS) and Summit Orthopedics, the student volunteers witnessed life-changing clinical care at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (“Our Little Brothers and Sisters” or NPH), a 2,000-acre orphanage and the location of the Holy Family Surgery Center founded by Summit Orthopedics’ Peter and Lulu Daly.
“The opportunity to go abroad and participate in something as impactful as a medical mission isn’t one you get often in high school, so I knew what OWS and Summit Orthopedics were doing was special,” says Patience Oduro, a Park High School alumna and a student at the University of Minnesota–Rochester.
During the weeklong mission, the patients at NPH receive orthopedic surgeries free of charge while the student volunteers aid the physicians in the work. “It’s great to have young people that are showing interest in medicine, and a lot of them come with all sorts of different questions,” says Scott Pepin, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Summit Orthopedics in Vadnais Heights and Woodbury. From assisting in preoperation preparation to shadowing the physicians in the operating room, the students experience several parts of the surgery.
“When I first arrived at NPH, I was immediately filled with hope,” says Justine Thompson, a senior at White Bear Lake Area High School. “When I walked into the surgery center, I knew that, whether it was painting walls or observing surgeries, I was going to make a difference. That alone was enough to ignite the flame of excitement in me.”
Justine recalls observing a hysterectomy, where the two surgeons explained the procedure step-by-step, ensuring that she could see and understand what was happening. “I didn’t even remember I was on a medical mission or in a completely different country because I was so fascinated by their teaching,” Justine says. Patience also observed this procedure and was able to speak with the patient after the operation. “Even though she had just gone through the surgery, she told me she was already feeling better than before,” Patience says. “We learned that many of the patients who came to the clinic had been suffering from their conditions for years already.”
The steep cost of health care and the limited number of providers means that most patients have waited three to four years for surgery. “It really opened my eyes to what life is like in countries such as Honduras,” says William Maguire, a senior at East Ridge High School.
Min Ka and William Maguire, third and fourth from the left, are joined by other student volunteers on a hike in Honduras.
Dr. Pepin says it’s rewarding to perform these necessary medical operations while also teaching students about the work. “It’s great having them along and giving them that experience early. The first time I got to observe an operating room, I was done with college,” he says. “It’s a nice introduction to the OR [and] seeing the many components that make up the team. It’s emphasizing the teamwork that goes along with it and that everyone’s role is just as important as the next.”
Min Ka, a Woodbury High School alumnus, immediately felt the impact of the mission while shadowing Dr. Pepin during an arthroscopic surgery. “When we were watching, we could ask Dr. Pepin questions, and before he would do anything … he would explain what he was about to do,” Min says. “It was a really cool experience to see and learn what was actually going on.”
Min, who is now studying nursing at the University of Minnesota–Rochester, adds, “Before going on the trip, I didn’t really know about specialties. Being there, and listening to the nurses and surgeons around me, I learned a lot. It got my mind working around that maybe I do want to work in the OR and preop.”
Similarly, William volunteered because of his aspirations to have a career in the medical field. He assisted the medical team where needed and observed surgeries firsthand, including an ACL repair. “It was a really conflicting experience at first. I was so focused on not being the person who passed out that I ended up psyching myself out,” William says. “But once I was actually in the surgery room, my anxieties went away … By the end, I was deeply invested in whatever surgery I was observing.”
Several area students joined One World Surgery and Summit Orthopedics on a medical mission trip to Honduras, where they were able to interact with patients and experience a surgical operating room.
Outside of the operating room, volunteers explored Honduras, planted a tree while reciting a poem honoring their time in the country and visited with locals. “The kind of positive impact that was made inside and outside the clinic is what I strive to create and contribute to in the future,” Patience says. “[This mission] reaffirmed my beliefs about quality health care for everyone, and the life-changing power of it.”
“It’s been such a cool experience. One you’ll never find anywhere else,” Min says. “I’m very grateful, very thankful for this opportunity to go on this trip and have this impact on others—and have the others impact myself … I would recommend this to any student who would like to go into the medical field or not. It will change you as a person and affect you positively for years.”
Interested students are encouraged to apply beginning this month, and applications are open to students within the South Washington County Schools district. Learn more by visiting oneworldsurgery.org and summitortho.com.
