Social Work Students Serve and Learn in Honduras

Senior Tri-S trip connects classroom learning, cultural humility, and community engagement

ANDERSON, Ind. — This spring, May 2026 senior social work students took a Tri-S trip to Honduras, celebrating four years of hard work.

The work the students completed during the trip directly connected to what students learn in their social work classes.

Social work students spend years learning in the classroom and through practicums to adapt their skills to help individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Working with vulnerable populations in Honduras allowed them to apply their understanding of community engagement. 

“Our annual trip with our Social Work seniors is vital as a celebration of their four years of hard work, an important bonding time for the students and faculty, and finally, a way to actualize the core principles of Social Work by serving in a new community and learning with cultural humility about a new people group and geographic region,” Lisa Pay, professor of social work, said.

“They engaged with families and groups in the mountain communities and worked with the staff at the Heart to Honduras ministry,” Pay said. “They also used their direct service skills when listening, asking questions, and sharing with different stakeholders and community members.”

Pay said that the most meaningful moment of the trip for her was watching her three students engage with the staff in a meeting with Heart to Honduras, the ministry the social work students partnered with.

The students conversed in Spanish as they explained and answered questions the staff had about their senior spring practicums at the Division of Children Services, Anderson Center Behavioral Health, and Eastside Elementary School.

The local Heart to Honduras team asked specific questions about the students’ work with children and teens in these agencies, showing the mutual passion for serving in difficult spaces.

Lolly Bargerstock, professor of social work, added, “My favorite moments overall were watching the students connect to the Honduran people with compassion, dignity, curiosity, and love. Their commitment to both giving and receiving within the context of Christlike love was remarkable!”

This Tri-S not only gave students a chance to connect and serve, but also allowed them to continue their studies through hands-on, interpersonal, cross-cultural experiences.

One Tri-S student, Rebekah Fannin, is now earning her Master of Social Work at The Ohio State University and will complete her program by August 2027.

“This trip solidified my understanding of why being culturally competent is so important and how simply respecting someone else’s culture can do wonders for building rapport,” Fannin said.

Despite being in a different country, her classes and practicum experiences gave her foundational knowledge that she adapted to a new setting.

Her favorite activity was playing soccer with the kids in one of the villages the team visited.

“Being an athlete myself, doing something I really love with people who also really love it helped create a connection, and I had so much fun,” Fannin said.

About Anderson University

Anderson University educates students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 50 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 18 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult, graduate, and online programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized for excellence in business, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, music, nursing, psychology, social work, and teacher education programs. Established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God, the university remains committed to its Christ-centered mission.