“This was much more rewarding than doing some other spring break opportunity,” Cross said. “It’s directly related to what I want to do, and (it) just confirmed for me that I really like helping people and give health care to those who don’t have access.”

MSU’s chapter was started by human biology senior Lauren Yoon last fall.

Yoon said the group attended to more than 845 patients during the four days the clinic was open. The community is impoverished and has poor sanitation, she said.

“It’s extremely humbling (when you get down there),” Yoon said. “You don’t realize how good we have it here until you see how little they have down there.”

Thirty-four students and two professional dentists traveled to Honduras, and each person paid about $1,600 for the trip, Yoon said, including travel, food and security expenses.

“It’s expensive, but I heard a kid say on the plane ride back he spent all his money and savings on this trip instead of buying a car this summer,” said Dr. Cheryl Bologna, who volunteered her time to travel with the group. “I thought that was cool and very honorable.”

Bologna has a family dental practice in Dearborn, Mich., and has been studying dentistry for 25 years. Bologna said when the volunteer group was at the clinic — stationed in La Ceiba, a city in northern Honduras — she used a wooden school chair for the patients to sit in while she pulled their teeth.

“I’ve come to a point in my life where I have been practicing (dentistry) for a while, and I have a skill I can use to give back,” Bologna said. “It’s a way to share my skill with the world.”

The group landed in Honduras on March 5 and began working the next day. Before they began medical care, they had to sort, count and label hundreds of medical supplies, Bologna said.

The group would wake up at 5:30 a.m., travel for almost four hours to the health clinic and work until 4 p.m. each day. While in Honduras, the group stayed at Posada Azul — a Global Brigade compound for volunteers.

“There were 36 bunks with two showers (that had) no pressure,” Bologna said. “That sucked, but that’s not why we were there. It wasn’t a vacation, we were there to help people.”

Although Yoon is graduating this May, she hopes to volunteer again next year with the MSU group she founded and continue to make a difference in the world.

“It’s a really good opportunity for MSU to make an impact on the rest of the world,” Yoon said.