SMI Student Blog
Browse the SMI Student Blog Posts
The blog entries below were submitted by past participants of the SMI program during their time in Philadelphia. There are also some yearly recaps from our Summer Program Director.
Reflections
Reflecting back on my time on SMI, this past month or so has genuinely been both such a blessing and also a humbling experience for me in the best way possible. Prior to this experience in Kensington, I have had very limited experience or understanding of what it...
Finding a Home Far Away From Home
Coming into SMI, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was that God opened the doors for me to spend three weeks serving in Kensington, and I was praying that my heart would be softened and opened to what he planned to teach me in the coming weeks. I was...
Their Eyes
Their eyes are always the first thing I notice. I learned to read their eyes. I learned to communicate with their eyes. Knock, Knock. Their eyes peek out of the window and quickly disappear, sometimes never to be seen again. Their eyes answer the door and squint,...
Transformational: 30 Years of SMI
A Report of the Philadelphia Summer Medical Institute, June 26-July 17, 2021 By Holly Favino, Summer Program Director Who would imagine that a vaccination effort to combat a 1991 North...
“God was already at work in this place before you got here.”
by Trevor S. We come into this place with good intentions, energy, excitement, and passion for positive change and spiritual development. We enter with various levels of experience,...
Simple But Powerful Lessons
By Tolulope I The Summer Medical Institute (SMI Philly 2020) is over and here I am reminiscing on the experiences I gained throughout the course of the program. The image of paintings on the...
Supporting Health Care During the Pandemic
By Katie V The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Philadelphia Summer Medical Institute (SMI) to be different this year. Instead of going door-to-door to provide health screenings, we worked with...
The Gift of Hope
Top row, left to right: Elizabeth Centurión, Larissa Dean, Tiffany Wang, Jessica Bedele; Bottom row, left to right: Abby Weems, Juliana Bonilla, Nadine Kamel, Sosela Rrusho I have no words...
SHADOWing in the LIGHT
Hi everyone! My name is Kai Inguito, and I’m a rising second year medical student at Jefferson. I would like to share about my time SHADOWing at SMI. One of my career interests in medicine is to...
A Paradoxical Beauty
In the two weeks that I have spent living and serving in North Philly, I have been so deeply blessed and yet deeply challenged as well. Our medical team has already spent many hours in...
Beautiful Feet
From left to right: Brian Schonewald, Nadeen Kamel, Jessica Bedele How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news...
Until We Reunite in Heaven
The stories, testimonies, struggles, challenges, and lessons that were birthed from this week are a pure testament of how good the Lord is, especially to those who are overlooked. One of the...
Let Yourself be Loved
One of the key parts (if not the most important) of my testimony is when I accepted Jesus into my heart at seven years old. Since then I have had many trials and areas of growth in my walk with...
Unqualified for Missions
From left to right: Nadeen Kamel, Stephanie Ko, Brian Schonewald My name is Brian Schonewald, I am a second year medical student at Cooper Medical School and I am utterly unqualified for...
Glass Shattered Streets
Glass Shattered Streets By Larissa Dean . Look around and you can see the pain. Where the greedy take and what’s left remains. On these glass shattered streets. . But on these glass shattered...
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