BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Nursing students from Cal State Bakersfield are heading to Argentina as part of the Global Nursing Outreach program — the first time the program has sent students to the South American country.
According to the program, Global Nursing Outreach launched in 2017. Since then, 237 students have traveled to Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica and Zambia.
Krystal Ball, the Global Outreach director at CSUB, said 21 students will hit the ground running once they arrive in Argentina.
"Visiting several village in Argentina, doing health outreach, and we're also going to be doing a workshop at a Argentina nursing school. And so we'll be doing some different things while we're there," Ball said.
Students will also learn how to communicate with people who don't speak English or Spanish, adding another layer to the learning experience.
The group is traveling to northern Argentina, where an indigenous population speaks Wichí, a language distinct from Spanish.
"We're going to northern Argentina, where there's an indigenous population that doesn't speak Spanish, they speak Wichí. And so we're going to have to go in English to Spanish, Spanish to Wichí, Wichí to Spanish, Spanish to English. So it makes it very challenging, but when you're trying to care for somebody, it's important that you can communicate with them. And so that's why we started this whole program, and it has been life changing," Ball said.
For senior Monserrat Garibay, this is her first outreach trip with fellow CSUB nursing students. Garibay said she applied without knowing how competitive the selection process would be.
"300 applicants at the time. So I was just nervous, and I thought, I'll just take the chance. So when I heard my name, I was so excited," Garibay said.
Garibay believes the experience will benefit her throughout her healthcare career.
"I thought this was a great opportunity to broaden my horizon in nursing. Learning about new cultures makes me excited," Garibay said.
For Daisy Cabacungan, this is her second Global Nursing Outreach mission. Her first was in summer 2024, when students traveled to Zambia. She said that mission helped her fall more in love with her career.
"Honestly, the experience that I went through in Africa, it was very rewarding, it's very humbling, it's very eye opening to meet people from different continents, from different cultures," Cabacungan said.
After her experience in Zambia, Cabacungan signed up again, hoping her name would be chosen a second time. She said the program does more than teach nursing — it shapes who students become.
"I like to say we can't change the world, but we can help change someone's world. So I really like the opportunity that we're able to do global outreach and connect with these people, and just kind of pursue that pathway of nursing as it's so diverse and it offers so much," Cabacungan said.
Ball said the group will be in Argentina for about two weeks.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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