Learning to Lead with Heart
By Sara Elliott
From delivering medical supplies to teaching in classrooms, students discovered how service abroad reshapes the way they will practice and teach at home.
Watching a caesarean section surgery up close in Tanzania was a pivotal moment for nursing student Gabriela DiGesu.
“It was a truly profound cultural experience to be able to immerse myself in that,” says DiGesu.
“Before the doctors made any incision on the table they stepped away and prayed over the mother and baby to bless them in Swahili — we were able to be a part of that.”
Each year, the Faculty of Education organizes the experiential learning experience trip, which focuses on community service, social justice and humanitarian work where they provide education and donate school supplies. This year, the faculty extended the invite to Faculty of Nursing students who would get credit for their time as a consolidation placement.
DiGesu made the trek in May 2025 with 28 fellow students, including nine other nursing students.
“We did community outreach screenings, toured hospitals and gave seven to eight hockey bags full of medical supplies to the minister of health in Moshi, Tanzania,” she says.
As part of the trip, participating students fundraise for school supply donations. With nursing students involved, the hockey bags — already bulging with supplies — also included medical equipment and hygiene products.
In addition to providing education and healthcare, the students participated in team-building initiatives.
“Building trust, connections and relationships is central to the culture in Tanzania,” says DiGesu.
Gabriela DiGesu and fellow nursing students administer health tests to community members. | Photo supplied by Gabriela DiGesu.
“It was during those moments for sure that allowed us to embrace the culture and be together as one, and I think having that at the beginning was such an amazing way to get the group together for the rest of the weeks.”
Participating in the trip influenced DiGesu professionally and personally.
“I hope to take the skills and values I learned from the people there and implement them into my future practices because as much as we went there to impact them, they impacted us 10 times more,” she says.
DiGesu was also taken by the exceptional skills the doctors and nurses possessed without having access to first-world supplies and equipment.
“It was so beautiful to see the care they delivered without having as much as we do.”
“Seeing how innovative they are with the resources they do have was just incredible.”
"I knew I’d learn about their education system, healthcare system and the country itself – but I didn’t know I’d learn about the teacher that I want to be."
Emily Stanley, Faculty of Education student
Faculty of Education student Emily Stanley teaches a class of elementary students. | Photo supplied by Emily Stanley.
Education student Emily Stanley has opened a new bank account to start saving to go back next year. She says she was blown out of the water with the experience.
“I knew I’d learn about their education system, healthcare system and the country itself — but I didn’t know I’d learn about the teacher that I want to be,” says Stanley.
“We were met with an abundance of love and made welcome in every single place we went in every facet that we participated. As a teacher, that changes my whole perspective on who I want to be and how I want to make students feel in my classroom when I become a teacher.”
At the Women and Girls Empowering and Leadership program, Stanley says they taught educational lessons on many topics she is passionate about, including teenage pregnancy and safer sex. She says it was a monumental learning experience to get to have so early in her career.
The connections she built influenced Stanley deeply. One young Tanzanian student left a lasting imprint on her.
“I get emotional every time I talk about it. On the last day, we did a talent show and Victoria and her group of friends sang us a goodbye song and that’s a big reason why I want to go again next year,” she says.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to listen to and learn from others with different lived experiences.”
University of Windsor faculty, staff and students gather for a group photo in Tanzania. | Photo supplied by Gabriela DiGesu.
Lead organizer Clinton Beckford, vice-president of people, equity and inclusion, says the trips started in 2008 and the students always end up deeply affected by the experience.
“To be in there doing hands-on things working with real people and seeing how they live from day to day — I’m happy that we’re able to make this opportunity available to students,” says Dr. Beckford.
“It’s a tremendously rewarding experience and I believe it is absolutely critical for students because it makes them better teachers, better nurses and better people.”
DiGesu says some of the staff at the Dispensary Clinic in Singida gifted them pins as a thank you, and the UWindsor students plan to wear them when they cross the stage at convocation.
“I went there to change other people’s lives and to make a difference in theirs, but coming back I feel like a changed person and it truly makes me want to go back again.”
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