At Southern Adventist University, service is a critical aspect of student growth. Students in the Biology and Allied Health Department had the opportunity to participate in two community outreach events in downtown Chattanooga near the university last school year.

Paulo Dias, M.D., associate professor in the Biology and Allied Health Department, believes that “the purpose of Adventist education is to form missionaries for every field.” To further this goal, he organized these outreach events to show students how they can take part in the process and help motivate them to be personally involved in serving the downtown community. His hope is that more people will be able to learn about God through the events.

“If you reach out to people and genuinely want to assess their needs and help them, it opens them up to spiritual truths,” Dias explains. “I want to give people the opportunity to have access to the truth.”

For the first event, eight students, Dias, and local church families set up in a busy pedestrian part of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. They operated a health booth where they measured blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol, and they passed out literature to passers-by. For the second event, the group chose to visit a government housing neighborhood, where they went door to door passing out literature and directing people to their health booth set up in a local park.

Emily Rojas, junior biology major, volunteered for both events. “I wanted to connect with people in the community who are just 20 minutes away from me but live totally different lives,” she explains.

Heaven Robles, freshman biology-research major, passed out literature during the second event. She found herself relying heavily on the Holy Spirit to guide her conversations, enabling her to create deeper connections with the community.  “Through this experience, I became more open-minded,” Robles says. “I’ve realized that we are all called to be a blessing to those around us and reach out to those in need of encouragement.”

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