PSU Nursing Service Learning Trip

Ten Plymouth State University nursing students returned from a service learning trip to a Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, where they gained valuable experience and learned about Native American and Navajo culture.

Students were guests of the Navajo reservation located in Tuba City, Arizona, where they were treated to traditional Navajo meals and stories from native elders while learning about the Navajo language and customs.

“For nurses and other healthcare providers in particular, it’s very important we learn how unique cultures prefer to navigate the modern American healthcare system,” said Kerri Reynolds, MSN, BSN, RN, clinical assistant professor of nursing at PSU and faculty advisor who attended the trip. “Every day started with a reflective session with our advisors and guides to help us understand the rich heritage of the Navajo people and to unpack the historical and present issues that marginalized populations like the Navajo are struggling with.”

Students spent time doing volunteer work, including removing weeds from the irrigation canals of the reservation’s sacred cornfields. Other activities included participating in a coming-of-age Kinaalda ceremony for young women, experiencing a traditional sweat lodge and learning about traditional native medicine, touring the Navajo Code Talkers Exhibit in the Historical Tuba City Trading Post, hiking the Little Colorado River Gorge and visiting the Grand Canyon, among other points of interest.

This was the second Service Learning Trip to the reservation made by PSU nursing students since 2020. Amizade, a global organizer of service learning and volunteer projects for high schools, community groups and universities, facilitated the visit, designed the itinerary and agenda and provided educational resources about marginalized communities and self-appraising bias. Reynolds taught the students about Indigenous cultures before the trip to help the students prepare to immerse themselves into the Navajo culture.

“Going on this trip to immerse myself in Navajo culture has been a transformative experience that has left an unforgettable mark on my perspective, not only as an individual but also as a future healthcare professional.”  - Abigail Sewall

In preparation for this trip, each student helped to raise the approximately $8,000 in funds needed over an 18-month period by doing odd-jobs, selling donuts and candies through the Plymouth State Student Nurses Association and by partnering with Plymouth Soapworks to create and sell Southwest-U.S.-inspired soaps, of which half the proceeds were donated to the trip.