Senior Daniel Jackson began his college career three years ago with the desire to pursue an education that combined his passion for serving others and science. His passion led him to choose biochemistry as his major, with the intention of becoming a doctor.

Daniel chose the pre-med field because he wanted to be able to establish relationships with those he helps.  Relationships with others are an important part of Daniel’s life, and although his coursework keeps him busy, he makes time to focus on issues that affect the community.

“Dan is an amazing individual [who] lives each day and every moment with his passion of his purpose in life and what it means to be a guy on campus. He loves helping others and seeking out ways where he can better himself as a person. He is a great role model on campus and genuine friend,” Junior Health Fitness Major and Justin Lund said.

Daniel got involved in the Center for Vocational Reflection Men’s Initiative, which focuses on identifying the lack of male participation in community service, discerning of calling and spirituality. He then helped found a student organization called the Men’s Leadership Team.

“We have been focusing on growing men’s awareness of key issues and then taking action, making male-driven stands against domestic and sexual violence, including bringing speakers and mentoring children in families of survivors. We also just want to get more guys involved, including tabling in [first-year]dorms to promote campus activities,” Daniel said.

Daniel had an opportunity this past summer to travel to Peru to discern his vocation. With guidance from the Center for Vocational Reflection, Daniel spent a month-and-a-half volunteering in the hospital in Cusco.

“I did not expect the clinic to be like it was. It was both better and worse than I expected. What was better was that they had a good staff of doctors [who] serve the poorest of the poor, but it is also known for its vertical births. I didn’t expect the gaping flaws that I saw,” Daniel said.

Daniel witnessed a variety of problems while volunteering at the hospital called El Centro de Salud de Belempampa in Cusco. One problem was that hand washing rarely occurred. This was due to a lack of sinks and soap; there were some, but not enough.

“Generally there weren’t gloves or masks unless the doctors bought them on their own, which is expensive because the doctors make between $400-900 a month.”

Another example of the lack of medical supplies that Daniel encountered was seen on his ambulance ride-along. “The ambulance was a pickup truck with an unstrapped bed in the back, driving over dirt roads with little medical supplies,” Daniel said.

The disparities that Daniel saw and experienced while volunteering in Peru made him reflect back on the Bible verse Mark 12:30-31 (New International Version) which says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Daniel, along with other volunteers, wanted to find a way to show they loved their neighbors in Cusco, Peru. Some of the programs that they are trying to establish dealt with developing a system to keep the hospital stocked with needed medical supplies and educating the staff and community.

“The types of programs we want to put into place are centered on figuring out what are the needed amount of medical supplies to be using monthly per person and how much we need to supplement it to ensure decency in care,” Daniel said.

Daniel takes on a holistic approach, because he sees things as a whole and wants to do as much as he can to help. “You can’t just provide soap; we need to educate people about health. If you see a problem, you work on making changes to solve the problem.”

Daniel learned there are certain resources you can live without and still live well. On the other hand, “there are some things that using little resources for is not OK, like the lack of supplies in the hospital,” Daniel said.

This realization led Daniel to decide not to live with rented housing this year in order to save a large amount of resources. He has been living out of the backseat of his car which he parks in the driveways of his family, friends and faculty. He drives to campus for his classes and spends the day on campus, which provides all the amenities he needs.

“There are a lot of really wonderful things you can do with a few thousand saved dollars. So if I’m able to comfortably and enjoyably sleep on a full size mattress in the back of my car, spending my days on our all-inclusive campus like any other student, and in doing so provide for both my sister’s college tuition and for future work in Peru, that simply makes sense,” Daniel said.

Daniel’s experience in Peru ignited a passion to serve the community of Cusco and work toward making a difference.

If you would like more information about the hospital that Daniel volunteered at or an opportunity to give, you can visit Friendsofbelempampa.org. Look throughout the year for more information about the organization inspired by Daniel’s Peru experience and how you can become a volunteer.