Volunteer with Therapy Abroad

I loved how I was able to do this experience with my friends and make amazing memories while helping the community. This a trip that I will never forget and would recommend it to anyone to do it. I’m so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and did this experience. It was amazing that I was able to leave such an impact on the community at the camp. It was awesome to be the first OT students to go there and start a base for future OT students to build off of what we started at the camp in San Ignacio.

Study abroad has great learning opportunities as well as amazing opportunities to immerse in cultures different then your own. We had the privilege to visit community markets, eat local food, Zumba with residents, and learn how to make pottery and tortillas from scratch! We also went to the beach, snorkeled in the second largest barrier reef in the world, and went cave tubing and ziplining! As a student, this is an awesome way to gain knowledge about various cultures and help individuals that have limited resources to be successful in all areas of occupation. We have been told by professors that therapy can be provided with the items in your pocket, and with this experience, we were able to see what that really met and had the ability to display our potential to be wonderful clinicians to both ourselves, our faculty, and to the individuals receiving services!

Directly following undergrad graduation, I hopped on a plane and traveled with Therapy Abroad to Belize! In just 8 days, my peers and I got to explore a new country, immerse ourselves in the Belizean culture, and gain valuable clinical experience heading into graduate school. After participating in this trip, I have more confidence in my abilities as a clinician. I enjoyed trying new foods; participating in snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and Belizean traditional drumming; and getting to work with my first ever clients.

This trip to Belize was my first time abroad and I couldn’t have asked for better. Experiencing the culture in Belize and all of the kind and wonderful people who make this community what it is was truly remarkable. Therapy Abroad made maneuvering a new country seamless, fun, and worthwhile. We had the best time delivering speech and language services to children in Belize who otherwise would not receive these services. Just amazing overall! I can’t wait to return or hopefully go somewhere else with Therapy Abroad. Can’t thank them enough for all they do for students and individuals in need of therapy services!

I had a great experience. I came through my university which just had an integration with two other schools. I was the only one from my specific campus. But have made great friends. I was so overjoyed to work with all the students in Belize and they were all so sweet. Our host and driver were amazing and took great care of us. There was not one moment where I was bored. Being able to be in the culture was so interesting. I never thought I would be able to leave the United States never the less be able to experience a culture so fully.

I absolutely loved my experience in Belize. I got to learn a ton about doing hearing screenings and even got to do a few of my own. I also really thought that the activities were really fun, especially cave tubing because I love activities in the water. The food was also really good as well and majority of the restaurants that were selected I enjoyed. I would definitely recommend this to anybody and think that it’s a really unique and valuable experience. I truly had an amazing time and would definitely do it again.

I absolutely loved my experience with Therapy Abroad! I got to work with certified SLPs to help perform speech screenings, and this was my first ever experience doing something like that! Going into it I didn’t know what to expect since we were not given many details, but I would say almost to everything was a happy surprise! I would say I would’ve liked to have had more 1 on 1 time with the kids in Belize, but I understand why that may have not been possible. I am thankful for this experience, and would highly recommend it to people who are wanting to serve abroad - just to have an open mind and be eager to try new things that may be out of your comfort zone!

I enjoyed my experience overall and had a great time. I found the therapy part to be a bit challenging in that we didn’t know much information about the clients we were seeing or their condition. There could be improvement in the sustainability aspect of the therapy we were doing. However, I learned a lot more about my field of study, and feel I grew as a person and future SLP. I also enjoyed learning about the culture of Belize. I was glad to be able to take advantages of other activities such as snorkeling and cave tubing. I would certainly recommend the trip to others.